Abstract
Background: To examine the effects of allergic conjunctivitis and its treatment upon choroidal thickness (ChT) using topical antihistaminic agents. Methods: 60 eyes of 30 children and adolescents with allergic conjunctivitis and 60 eyes of 30 healthy controls participated in the study. Inclusion criteria for patient groups were best-corrected visual acuity 20/20 or better, normal intraocular pressure (IOP) and no systemic or ocular diseases other than allergic conjunctivitis. Healthy controls recruited from children and adolescents who had no ocular or chronic systemic disorders and had best-corrected visual acuity 20/20 or better and normal IOP. ChT was measuredby using Enhanced Depth Imaging Optical Coherence Tomography (EDI-OCT) before and after treatment by antihistamine agents. Results: Subfoveal choroidal thicknes mean value was 364.1 ± 63.8 m in the allergic conjunctivitis group and the first-month values after the treatment were 333.5 ± 52.1 m. Subfoveal choroidal thickness means value in the control group was 320.6 ± 80.9 m. There was a statistically significant decrease in ChT after treatment of allergic conjunctivitis patients and there was a significant difference in terms of baseline ChT values between the allergic conjunctivitis group and the control group. There was no significant difference between one month after treatment values and the mean values of the control group. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that ChT can increase in allergic conjunctivitis patients and can become normal again with topical antihistamine treatment. In order to support choroidal thickness to be a marker for the diagnosis and follow-up of allergic conjunctivitis, further studies with larger samples and longitudinal studies are needed.
Highlights
Allergic conjunctivitis is one of the most common ocular disorders in pediatric patients and defined as a Type 1 hypersensitivity reaction in which the igE mediated response is involved
Our results demonstrate that choroidal thickness (ChT) can increase in allergic conjunctivitis patients and can become normal again with topical antihistamine treatment
In order to support choroidal thickness to be a marker for the diagnosis and follow-up of allergic conjunctivitis, further studies with larger samples and longitudinal studies are needed
Summary
Allergic conjunctivitis is one of the most common ocular disorders in pediatric patients and defined as a Type 1 hypersensitivity reaction in which the igE mediated response is involved. Acute allergic conjunctivitis is a common acute conjunctival reaction in children, which usually develops in spring and summer due to environmental allergens such as pollen [1]. In a limited number of studies evaluating choroidal thickness (ChT) in children, there are contradictory results reporting that choroidal thickness increases [2] and decreases [3] in healthy children with age. Subfoveal choroidal thickness was thinner in patients with myopia like those in adults [4, 5]. To examine the effects of allergic conjunctivitis and its treatment upon choroidal thickness (ChT) using topical antihistaminic agents
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