
Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Allergic conjunctivitis physical examination
Introduction
Overview
Overview
Conjunctival hyperemia and discharge are found in the majority of patients on clinical examination. Specific signs include Horner-Tranta’s dots, shield ulcers and cobblestone appearance in VKC, sandpaper like eyelid texture in AKC, and giant conjunctival papillae in GPC.
Physical Examination
Physical Examination
SAC and PAC[1]
- Mild to moderate conjunctival injection
- Conjunctival chemosis, more than expected for a particular degree of redness
VKC
- ‘Cobblestone-like’ giant papillae on flipping the upper tarsal conjunctiva, sometimes with a tenacious mucous discharge[2]
- Central Punctate epithelial keratitis (keratitis epithelialis vernalis of El Tobgy). The dots may coalesce to form a whitish or grayish plaque beneath the epithelium which interfere with vision and lead to central corneal scarring.
- Tranta’s dots: Clumps of necrotic eosinophils, neutrophils, and epithelial cells[3]. They tend to disappear when symptoms abate[1].
- Shield ulcers in the superior sectors of the cornea : Noninfectious, oval-shaped, circumscribed epithelial ulcer with underlying stromal opacification[4]
AKC[5]
- Red, elevated, eczematous lesions on the eyelids, or any place on the body.
- Fine sandpaper-like texture of the eyelid skin
- Conjunctival injection and chemosis with giant papillae
- Conjunctival scarring
- Atopic cataracts
GPC
References
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Friedlaender MH (2011). “Ocular allergy”. Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol. 11 (5): 477–82. doi:10.1097/ACI.0b013e32834a9652. PMID 21822130.
- ↑ Bielory L, Frohman LP (1992). “Allergic and immunologic disorders of the eye”. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 89 (1 Pt 1): 1–15. doi:10.1016/s0091-6749(05)80033-8. PMID 1730829.
- ↑ Kumar S (2009). “Vernal keratoconjunctivitis: a major review”. Acta Ophthalmol. 87 (2): 133–47. doi:10.1111/j.1755-3768.2008.01347.x. PMID 18786127.
- ↑ La Rosa M, Lionetti E, Reibaldi M, Russo A, Longo A, Leonardi S; et al. (2013). “Allergic conjunctivitis: a comprehensive review of the literature”. Ital J Pediatr. 39: 18. doi:10.1186/1824-7288-39-18. PMC 3640929. PMID 23497516.
- ↑ Bielory B, Bielory L (2010). “Atopic dermatitis and keratoconjunctivitis”. Immunol Allergy Clin North Am. 30 (3): 323–36. doi:10.1016/j.iac.2010.06.004. PMID 20670816.
- ↑ Elhers WH, Donshik PC (2008). “Giant papillary conjunctivitis”. Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol. 8 (5): 445–9. doi:10.1097/ACI.0b013e32830e6af0. PMID 18769199.
Editor-In-Chief:
C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Sujaya Chattopadhyay, M.D.[2]
