Volume : 4, Issue : 3, March - 2015

Demographic and clinical profile of vernal keratoconjunctivitis at a tertiary eye care center in India.

Manju J. Loya, Lokesh Kc, Pranay Gandhi

Abstract :

<p>&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;nbsp;Purpose: To study the demographic and clinical profile of patients with vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) at a tertiary&amp;amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;div&amp;amp;gt;eye care center in India.&amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;div&amp;amp;gt;Materials and Methods: Retrospective chart analysis of 468 patients of VKC seen from January 2006 to December 2006.&amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;div&amp;amp;gt;Results: Mean age at presentation was 12 years. Majority of the patients had mixed pattern disease (72%). Chronic perennial disease was seen&amp;amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;div&amp;amp;gt;in 36% patients. Personal or family history of allergies was noted in 5% patients. Severe disease based on clinical grading was present in 37%&amp;amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;div&amp;amp;gt;patients. Moderate to severe vision loss was seen in 12% of total population. Persistent disease beyond 20 years of age was found in 12% patients.&amp;amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;div&amp;amp;gt;VKC&amp;amp;amp;ndash;related complications such as corneal scarring (11%), shield ulcer (3%), keratoconus (6%), and limbal stem cell deficiency (1.2%) were seen.&amp;amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;div&amp;amp;gt;Treatment&amp;amp;amp;ndash;related complications like corticosteroid&amp;amp;amp;ndash;induced cataract and glaucoma were seen in 6% and 4% of patients, respectively.&amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;div&amp;amp;gt;Conclusion: Clinical pattern of VKC seen in the tropical climate of India is essentially similar to that seen in other tropical countries. Few distinct&amp;amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;div&amp;amp;gt;features that we noted represent chronic perennial disease, low association with atopy, and higher propensity for disease and treatment&amp;amp;amp;ndash;related&amp;amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;div&amp;amp;gt;complications.&amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;</p>