Correlation Between Allergic Conjunctivitis And The Alterations Of Tear Film Lipid Layer Thickness

Objective:To assess the alterations of the tear film lipid layer thickness(LLT)in patients with seasonal or perennial allergic conjunctivitis(AC)and to compare the results and other tear film parameters with healthy control subjects.To explore the cause of the alterations of lipid layer thickness and the relationship between lipid layer thickness and the change of tear film stability,in order to guide clinical diagnosis and treatment.Materials and methods:Fifty-two patients with seasonal or perennial allergic conjunctivitis between December of 2016 and February of 2017,were recruited and inquired to complain about their sign and symptom,with cytologic findings of conjunctival scraping including eosinophils,acidophilic granular and/or mast cells.They were undergone a measurement of two tear film lipid layer thickness by an interferometry,Schirmer I test without anesthesia,tear-film breakup time,tear meniscus height and meibomian gland evaluation as well as 102 eyes of 51 healthy control subjects.By applying SPSS21.0 for statistical analysis of the different paraments between the patients withallergic conjunctivitis and the healthy control group.Results:For patients with seasonal or perennial allergic conjunctivitis,66.04% had an LLT?60nm,only 6.61% had an LLT?75 nm.The mean LLT was 56.97±20.43 nm in patients with seasonal or perennial allergic conjunctivitis compared with the mean value of 87.40±28.17 nm in the controls.Eyes with allergic conjunctivitis had significantly lower tear film lipid layer thickness compared with the control eyes(P< 0.05).The ratio of positive result(LLT?60nm)in total eyes with allergic conjunctivitis is significantly higher than the control eyes(P <0.05).The patients' mean BUT 2.77±1.32 seconds is statistical significance with the mean value of3.55±1.11 in the control group(P <0.05).The patients' mean score of morphology of lipid layer thickness 2.91±0.61 is statistical significance with the mean value of3.08±0.65 in the control group(P <0.05).The ratio of eyes in patients with allergic conjunctivitis occurred MGD is 34/40(85%)which was statistical significant higher than in control with 7/32(21.9%)(P <0.05).Conclusion:The lipid layer thickness in patients with allergic conjunctivitis is lower than the healthy people,it was associated with the descend of tear film stability.The alteration of lipid layer thickness may have an association with the Meibomian gland dysfunction caused by the allergic conjunctivitis.