RESUMO
Allergic conjunctival disease (ACD) is a type of ocular allergy, which includes seasonal allergic conjunctivitis (SAC), perennial allergic conjunctivitis (PAC), and vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC). Little is known about the pattern of sensitization or prevalent aeroallergens among patients with isolated ACD in Egypt We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of skin prick test positivity to common aeroallergens among Egyptian patients with isolated allergic conjunctival disease. The study included 75 patients with isolated ACD recruited from a tertiary Egyptian outpatient clinic. Skin prick test (SPT) was performed for all patients with common aeroallergens. Total serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) was measured by ELISA. A positive SPT reaction was present among 32 patients (42.7%). The most prevalent aeroallergens among all patients were mites and pollens (12% respectively), followed by grass (8%) and hay dust (6.7%). Eight patients (10.7%) had SAC, 19 patients (25.3%) had PAC, and 48 patients (64%) had VKC. Prevalence of SPT positivity to indoor allergens was significantly more common among PAC (52.6%) than among SAC (25%) and VKC (16.7%), P= 0.011. Outdoor allergen sensitization did not differ significantly between the 3 subgroups, P= 0.614. Elevated IgE levels were observed among 62.5%, 73.7% and 66.7% of patients with SAC, PAC and VKC, respectively, with no statistically significant difference between them, P= 0.806. In conclusion aeroallergen sensitization is common among Egyptian patients with isolated ACD. Accordingly, SPT should be included in the diagnostic workup of these patients.