Vernal keratoconjunctivitis in a Stockholm ophthalmic centre ‐ epidemiological, functional, and immunologic investigations

Abstract

ABSTRACT.Purpose: To classify a cohort of 62 patients with vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) in immunologic, functional, and epidemiological terms. Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted to establish the patients' ethnic origin and to ascertain the results of standard in vitro and in vivo testing for atopic allergy. The latter data were compared with tear Phadiatop A , an allergy screening test, in 31 subjects. Further subgroup analyses included methacholine bronchial provocations, serum screening for chlamydial antibodies and epidemiological calculations of the observed prevalence of VKC in the Stockholm area in 1994. Results: Thirty-seven subjects (59.7%) were sensitised to common allergens. No additional allergic subjects were diagnosed with the tear Phadiatop A test. The serology for ocular chlamydial disease was negative. Only 6 out of 17 subjects displayed bronchial reactivity to methacholine of whom 4 had a history of asthma. VKC was clearly more common in individuals with an Asian and African origin. Conclusions: Sensitivity to allergens is a strong determinant for the disease but in a large proportion of the subjects this immunologic abnormality is absent. The varying prevalence of the condition in different ethnic groups indicates a genetic predisposing factor.

Therapeutic Effect of 0.1% Tacrolimus Eye Drops in the Tarsal Form of Vernal Keratoconjunctivitis

“…3a). The total area (11,259.76 ± 4,498.66 μm 2 ) and percentage area (7.10 ± 2.73%) decreased (to 695.16 ± 469.60 μm 2 and 0.45 ± 0.30%) at the last observation (Fig. 3b, d (Fig.…”

“…Montan et al [2] found that conjunctival biopsy specimens taken from patients with VKC showed higher counts for dendritic cell markers, including HLA-DR (MHC class II), FcεRI, and CD1a, than in healthy control subjects. Large numbers of dendritic cells distributed in the bulbar conjunctiva, limbus, and peripheral cornea of VKC have also been discovered on in vivo confocal microscopy [23].…”

Pattern of eye diseases and visual impairment among students in southwestern Nigeria

“…The high prevalence of vernal conjunctivitis in our study could be due to the fact that the work was carried out in the rainy season when pollen is normally dispersed into the atmosphere. In Stockholm, Sweden, using a cohort of 62 patients with vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC), VKC was observed to be more common among individuals of Asian and African origin, with varying prevalence among the different ethnic groups suggested as being due to genetic factors [12].…”

Allergy and the eye

“…Although no studies provide accurate calculations of VKC prevalence in the general population in European Union (EU), Asia, America or Africa, epidemic characteristics have been described in case series [2][3][4]. In one epidemiological report from Sweden, prevalence of VKC was clearly augmented by immigration of children with an African and Asian origin [16], suggesting that both genetic and environmental factors are implicated in the incidence of the disease.…”