Consideration of application of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in the treatment of allergic conjunctivitis

Abstract

Allergic conjunctivitis is a very common pathology and its incidence has increased in developing countries with the development of industrialization.At present,the therapy of allergic conjunctivitis is mainly the use of topical eyedrops to eliminate causative factors,relieve symptoms and prevent complications.The drugs used in allergic conjunctivitis have 6 groups,including antihistamine,mastocyte stabilizer,drugs with dual effects (antihistamine and mastocyte stabilizer),non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs),glucocorticoids and immunosuppressors.The goals of topical use of antihistamine,mastocyte stabilizer and drugs of dual effects are to remove the itching and hyperaemia of eye or to treat the patients with acute allergic conjunctivitis; while NSAIDs,glucocorticoids and immunosuppressors are used for the patients with severe or chronic allergic conjunctivitis.The glucocorticoid drugs are more effective because of their arresting effects in several links of the allergic response.Nevertheless,the long-term use of glucocorticoids probably results in ocular hypertension or posterior subcapsular cataract,furthermore,glucocorticoid drugs should be more cautionary in the application of the patients with corneal ulcer.Immunosuppressors inhibit abnormal immune responses,but these drugs should not be used for a long term because of higher cost and adverse effects.NSAIDs have a good anti-inflammatory effect and less irritant,so the topical use of NSAIDs for allergic conjunctivitis appears to be a better choice nowadays. Key words: Conjunctivitis, allergic/drug therapy; Ophthalmic solution/therapeutic use; Anti-allergic agent/therapeutic use; Anti-inflammatory agent/therapeutic use; Non-steroidal/therapeutic use