ABSTRACT
Objective:
To assess if early alterations detected by Pentacam in children suffering from mild ocular allergy are suggestive of ectasia.
Methods:
A retrospective analysis of 49 medical records of patients of both sexes, aged between 3 and 14 years was performed. In this sample, 31 children suffered from grade I ocular allergy, and 18 presented no signs or symptoms of ocular allergy and comprised the control group. Several Pentacam indexes were evaluated.
Results:
A statistically significant association was found in the variables “Df – variation of the anterior corneal elevation map” and “combined Pentacam”, which can be related to the early detection of corneal ectasia in these patients.
Conclusion:
There was a causal relation between prevalence of ocular allergy and tomographic alterations on the cornea, suggestive of keratoconus in some probably susceptible patients, which may be considered a risk factor for this complication.
Keywords:
Conjunctivitis, allergic; Corneal disease; Keratoconus; Ophthalmology; Anterior eye segment