Ocular Discomfort in Pterygium Patients

Purpose To evaluate the relationship between ocular discomfort and pterygium clinical characteristics. Methods The Ocular Comfort Index test was self-completed by 25 men and 15 women (age [mean ± SD], 43 ± 11 years) with primary pterygium. Pterygium corneal area (PCA) and limbal perimeter, course and bilaterality of the lesion, visibility of episcleral vessels, conjunctival hyperemia, and exposure to dry or dusty environments were assessed. Spearman correlation and multiple linear regression were performed to evaluate the relationship between ocular discomfort and pterygium clinical characteristics. Results Ocular discomfort was inversely correlated with PCA (&rgr; = −0.447, p < 0.01) and directly correlated with the exposure to dry or dusty environments (&rgr; = 0.324, p < 0.05). The other studied factors did not show any significant relationship with discomfort symptoms. The linear regression analysis identified PCA as the only factor that significantly influenced ocular discomfort (R = −0.404, p < 0.01). Conclusions The findings confirm an inverse linear relationship between ocular discomfort and PCA, providing evidence of corneal sensitivity loss in these patients.

[1]  Gemma Julio,et al.  Tear Osmolarity and Ocular Changes in Pterygium , 2012, Cornea.

[2]  G. Cardona,et al.  Item by Item Analysis Strategy of the Relationship Between Symptoms and Signs in Early Dry Eye , 2012, Current eye research.

[3]  C. Belmonte,et al.  Cold thermoreceptors, unexpected players in tear production and ocular dryness sensations. , 2011, Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.

[4]  F. Gudé,et al.  Prevalence of pinguecula and pterygium in a general population in Spain , 2011, Eye.

[5]  D. Wakefield,et al.  Stem Cells, Tissue Engineering, and Hematopoietic Elements Ophthalmic Pterygium A Stem Cell Disorder with Premalignant Features , 2011 .

[6]  Xinghuai Sun,et al.  In vivo confocal microscopic evaluation of morphologic changes and dendritic cell distribution in pterygium. , 2010, American journal of ophthalmology.

[7]  M. C. Acosta,et al.  Selective changes in human corneal sensation associated with herpes simplex virus keratitis. , 2010, Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.

[8]  P. Beck‐Peccoz,et al.  Corneal involvement in Graves' orbitopathy: an in vivo confocal study. , 2010, Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.

[9]  C. Baudouin,et al.  An In Vivo Confocal Microscopy and Impression Cytology Evaluation of Pterygium Activity , 2010, Cornea.

[10]  C. Marfurt,et al.  Anatomy of the human corneal innervation. , 2010, Experimental eye research.

[11]  N. Di Girolamo.  Signalling pathways activated by ultraviolet radiation: role in ocular and cutaneous health. , 2010, Current pharmaceutical design.

[12]  M. Papadia,et al.  Anatomical and Immunological Changes of the Cornea in Patients with Pterygium , 2007, Current eye research.

[13]  C. Begley,et al.  Ocular Discomfort From Pterygium in Men and Women , 2006, Eye & contact lens.

[14]  D. Wakefield,et al.  The role of substance P in the pathogenesis of pterygia. , 2007, Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.

[15]  P. J. Murphy,et al.  Measurement of ocular surface irritation on a linear interval scale with the ocular comfort index. , 2007, Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.

[16]  Feisal A Adatia,et al.  Correlation between corneal sensitivity, subjective dry eye symptoms and corneal staining in Sjögren's syndrome. , 2004, Canadian journal of ophthalmology. Journal canadien d'ophtalmologie.

[17]  Jason J Nichols,et al.  The Lack of Association Between Signs and Symptoms in Patients With Dry Eye Disease , 2004, Cornea.

[18]  S. Pflugfelder,et al.  Inflammation in dry eye. , 2004, The ocular surface.

[19]  D. Wakefield,et al.  Pathogenesis of pterygia: role of cytokines, growth factors, and matrix metalloproteinases , 2004, Progress in Retinal and Eye Research.

[20]  Y. Konttinen,et al.  Corneal innervation and morphology in primary Sjögren's syndrome. , 2003, Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.

[21]  F. Kruse,et al.  Corneal nerves: structure, contents and function. , 2003, Experimental eye research.

[22]  D. Tan,et al.  Pterygium in Indonesia: prevalence, severity and risk factors , 2002, The British journal of ophthalmology.

[23]  G. Schultz,et al.  Pterygia pathogenesis: corneal invasion by matrix metalloproteinase expressing altered limbal epithelial basal cells. , 2001, Archives of ophthalmology.

[24]  A. Ergin,et al.  Study on Tear Function Abnormality in Pterygium , 2001, Ophthalmologica.

[25]  I L Bailey,et al.  Evaluating Pterygium Severity: A Survey of Corneal Specialists , 2000, Cornea.

[26]  S. Saw,et al.  Risk factors for the development of pterygium in Singapore: a hospital-based case-control study. , 2000, Acta ophthalmologica Scandinavica.

[27]  R Folberg,et al.  Confirmation of confocal microscopy diagnosis of Acanthamoeba keratitis using polymerase chain reaction analysis. , 2000, Archives of ophthalmology.

[28]  R. Beuerman,et al.  The pathology of dry eye: the interaction between the ocular surface and lacrimal glands. , 1998, Cornea.

[29]  A. S. M. Lim,et al.  Effect of pterygium morphology on pterygium recurrence in a controlled trial comparing conjunctival autografting with bare sclera excision. , 1997, Archives of ophthalmology.

[30]  G F Vrensen,et al.  Architecture of human corneal nerves. , 1997, Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.

[31]  R. W. Young.  The family of sunlight-related eye diseases. , 1994, Optometry and vision science : official publication of the American Academy of Optometry.

[32]  M. Coroneo.  Pterygium as an early indicator of ultraviolet insolation: a hypothesis. , 1993, The British journal of ophthalmology.

[33]  J. P. Gilbard,et al.  A proposed mechanism for increased tear-film osmolarity in contact lens wearers. , 1986, American journal of ophthalmology.

[34]  G. Weddell,et al.  Observations on the innervation of the cornea. , 1951, Journal of anatomy.