MedWire News: Around one-third of patients with rosacea have ocular signs and symptoms, a study by Greek researchers reveals.
The high prevalence of ocular rosacea supports the routine use of tear function tests to screen for the condition, say the authors.
For the study, E Lazaridou (Aristotle University, Thessaloniki) and co-workers assessed 100 consecutive patients attending the dermatology department for cutaneous manifestations of rosacea.
All participants were questioned and examined for ocular manifestations of rosacea. A total of 33 patients tested positive; the most frequent ophthalmic findings were conjunctivitis, blepharitis, burning sensation, and tearing.
Twenty-four rosacea patients were selected for further ophthalmology tests, of whom 10 were asymptomatic, along with 24 healthy controls matched for age and gender. All 48 individuals were assessed for tear function using the Schirmer test and the tear break-up time test (TBUT).
Pathologic Schirmer test values (<5 mm paper wet after insertion into eye) were not found in any of the patients or controls, report Lazaridou et al in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology.
Nevertheless, mean Schirmer test scores were significantly lower in rosacea patients than in controls (12.9 vs 21.5 mm), a statistically significant difference. Male patients also scored lower than female patients, on average.
Mean TBUT scores were also shorter in the rosacea patients than in controls (8.6 vs 14.4 s), and many more rosacea patients than controls had TBUT scores that were considered abnormal (87.5% vs 20.8%). Again these differences were statistically significant.
The researchers say that the prevalence of ocular manifestations in this population was in line with previous reports; unlike other studies, however, the severity of ocular disease was not proportional to the gravity of cutaneous rosacea.
"Rosacea, very often, is characterized by eye dryness," the team concludes. "Tear function tests, like Schirmer test and TBUT, although not specific, could contribute to the screening and early diagnosis of the disease to prevent the potential development of sight-threatening conditions."
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