PURPOSE: To evaluate complications of allergic keratoconjuctivitis that caused reduction in visual acuity to 0.6 or less and that could not solve with clinic treatment. METHODS: We analyzed retrospectively 186 charts and selected patients with visual acuity less than 0.6 on Snellen chart, associated with secondary anterior segment alterations. Data collected from the charts were: age, gender, kind of allergy, time of disease, time that complication appeared after treatment in our Service, side effects and ocular complications. RESULTS: Complications of anterior segment that caused reduction in visual acuity were: shield ulcers, 5 cases; cataract, 3 cases; corneal opacity, 6 cases; ocular perforation, 2 cases and keratoconus 13 cases. There were 7 surgeries: 2 tectonic penetrating keratoplasty, 4 optic keratoplasty, 4 optic penetrating keratoplasty and one superficial keratectomy. CONCLUSION: Patients with allergic keratoconjunctivitis should be treated in order to prevent ocular complications like keratitis, keratoconus, opacities and cataract.
Conjunctivitis, allergic; anterior eye segment
