Ravneet Pannu1, Balbir Singh2, Anand Aggarwal1*, Rajinder S Khalsa1, Paavan Kalra3, Kamlinder Kaur1, Talvir Sidhu1, P L Jindal4, Ishwar Singh1 and Sonika Bansal1
1Department of Ophthalmology, Government Medical College, Patiala, India
2Director, Guru Teg Bahadur Superspecialty Eye Hospital, Patiala and Honorable Health Minister, Vidhan Sabha Punjab, Chandigarh, India
3Director, Smt. Shanti Devi Eye Hospital, Yamunanagar, Haryana, India
4Chief Medical Officer, Dera Hospital, Beas, India
*Corresponding Author: Anand Aggarwal, Department of Ophthalmology, Government Medical College, Patiala, India.
Received: March 14, 2023; Published: March 23, 2023
Purpose: To study socio-demographic profile, clinical presentation and management, drug compliance and side effects in patients with Allergic Conjunctivitis at a tertiary Eye centre in Department of Ophthalmology, Government Medical College, Patiala.
Methods: In a prospective single centre study, 250 patients of AC fulfilling inclusion and exclusion criteria were enrolled after taking written informed consent. Their proper history was taken and clinical examination was done. Follow-up was done on 3rd day, 7th day, 14th day and subsequently at 1 month, 3 months and 6 months duration.
Results: SAC (52.4%) was the most common type of AC, followed by PAC (28.8%), VKC (11.6%), GPC (3.2%), AKC (2.8%) and CABC (1.2%). AC mostly affected young population, with females (61.2%) more in number than males. Itching (92.5%) was the most common symptom of AC, followed by watery eye (78.8%), frequent eye rubbing (74.4%), redness (72.4%). About half (49.2%) of patients had exacerbations in spring and summer seasons. 49(19.6%) patients had associated atopic condition; and 123 (49.2%) patients had a precipitating factor. 203 (81.2%) patients received more than one drug in treatment. Some cases of complications of AC were encountered like corneal abrasions (9.6%), amblyopia (2%) and secondary keratoconus (2.4%).
Conclusion: An understanding of epidemiology of allergic conjunctivitis is essential as it involves certain modifiable and treatable environmental conditions. It can impair quality of life to varying degrees and some cases may require multidisciplinary approach for management.
Keywords: Allergic Conjunctivitis; Seasonal Allergic Conjunctivitis; Perennial Allergic Conjunctivitis; Vernal Keratoconjunctivitis
Citation: Anand Aggarwal., et al. “Epidemiological Study of Allergic Conjunctivitis in a tertiary Eye Care Centre in North India".Acta Scientific Ophthalmology 6.4 (2023): 30-39.
Copyright: © 2023 Anand Aggarwal., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.