Blepharitis differential diagnosis

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Sara Mehrsefat, M.D. [2]

Overview

Blepharitis must be differentiated from other diseases that cause eye itching, irritation, burning, and foreign body sensation such as allergic contact dermatitis, conjunctivitis, trichiasis, dry eye syndrome, keratitis, hordeolum, chalazion, rosacea, and sebaceous carcinoma.

Differentiating Blepharitis from Other Diseases

Blepharitis must be differentiated from other conditions associated with eyelid inflammation, including:^[1]

Differential diagnosis of blepharitis
Condition	Entity
Bacterial infections	Impetigo (due primarily to Staphylococcus aureas) Erysipelas (due primarily to Streptococcus pyogenes)
Viral infections	Herpes simplex virus Molluscum contagiosum Varicella zoster virus Papillomavirus Vaccinia
Parasitic infections	Pediculosis palpebrarum (Phthirus pubis)
Immunologic conditions	Atopic dermatitis Contact dermatitis Erythema multiforme Pemphigus foliaceus Ocular mucous membrane pemphigoid (OMMP) Stevens-Johnson syndrome Discoid lupus Dermatomyositis Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) Crohn disease
Dermatoses	Psoriasis Ichthyosis Exfoliative dermatitis Erythroderma
Benign eyelid tumors	Pseudoepitheliomatous hyperplasia Actinic keratosis Squamous cell papilloma Sebaceous gland hyperplasia Hemangioma Pyogenic granuloma
Malignant eyelid tumors	Basal cell carcinoma Squamous cell carcinoma Sebaceous carcinoma Melanoma Kaposi sarcoma Mycosis fungoides
Trauma	Chemical Thermal Radiation Mechanical Surgical
Toxic conditions	Medicamentosa

Blepharitis must be differentiated from other diseases that cause red, swollen, and itchy eyes, including:^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]

References

↑ “Blepharitis – Preferred Practice Pattern Guideline – 2013 – American Academy of Ophthalmology.” http://www.aao.org/preferred-practice-pattern/blepharitis-ppp–2013.
↑ Mathers WD, Choi D (2004). “Cluster analysis of patients with ocular surface disease, blepharitis, and dry eye”. Arch Ophthalmol. 122 (11): 1700–4. doi:10.1001/archopht.122.11.1700. PMID 15534133.
↑ Lemp MA, Nichols KK (2009). “Blepharitis in the United States 2009: a survey-based perspective on prevalence and treatment”. Ocul Surf. 7 (2 Suppl): S1–S14. PMID 19383269.
↑ Beare JM (1969). “Blepharitis and related conditions”. Proc R Soc Med. 62 (1): 5–7. PMC 2279072. PMID 4236660.
↑ Bowman RW, Dougherty JM, McCulley JP (1987). “Chronic blepharitis and dry eyes”. Int Ophthalmol Clin. 27 (1): 27–35. PMID 3818198.
↑ Blepharitis. American Academy of Ophthalmology/eyewiki (2014) http://eyewiki.org/Blepharitis Accessed on July 14, 2016
↑ Leibowitz HM (2000). “The red eye”. N Engl J Med. 343 (5): 345–51. doi:10.1056/NEJM200008033430507. PMID 10922425.

Overview