알레르기결막염 환자에서 눈물 호산구양이온단백질 측정

Tear Eosinophil Cationic Protein Levels in Allergic Keratoconjunctivitis

Purpose: To evaluate tear eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) as a severity marker for atopic keratoconjunctivitis (AKC) and seasonal/ perennial allergic conjunctivitis (SAC/PAC). Methods: Tear ECP levels were measured by chemiluminescent immunometric assay in 7 eyes of 7 patients with AKC, 13 eyes of 13 patients with SAC/PAC, and 10 eyes of 10 healthy control subjects. All AKC and SAC/PAC patients underwent conjunctival injection and papillary formation grading. Tear ECP levels were investigated with reference to the clinical parameters of allergic conjunctivitis (papillary formation and conjunctival injection scoring). Results: Tear ECP levels in patients with AKC were significantly higher than those in patients with SAC/PAC and in control subjects (<em>p </em>= 0.012 and <em>p</em> = 0.003, respectively). The number of patients with papillary formation scores of 2-3 was significantly higher in the AKC group than in the SAC/PAC group (<em>p </em>= 0.016). The number of patients with conjunctival injection scores of 2-3 did not significantly differ between the AKC and SAC/PAC groups (<em>p </em>= 0.128). All AKC patients obtained papillary formation scores of 2-3, and tear ECP levels in patients with conjunctival injection scores of 2-3 were significantly higher than in patients with scores of 0-1 in the AKC group (<em>p </em>&lt; 0.001). In the SAC/PAC group, tear ECP levels in patients with papillary formation scores of 2-3 were significantly higher than in patients with scores of 0-1 (<em>p </em>= 0.046). Conclusions: This study suggests that tear ECP was a useful marker to diagnose and assess the severity of disease in patients with AKC as well as SAC/PAC. It would be useful to monitor therapeutic outcome in allergic conjunctivitis. J Korean Ophthalmol Soc 2014;55(9):1291-1297