ABSTRACT:
Background: Ocular allergy is a heterogeneous disorder in which allergic inflammation plays a major role. its manifestation may be seasonal or a perennial with a year-round moderate to severe symptoms like in perennial allergic conjunctivitis (PAC) or Atopic keratoconjunctivitis (AKC). Objectives: Our goal is to determine sensitization prevalence of inhalant allergens in ocular allergy. Patients and Methods: a cross sectional study conducted from November 2022 to February 2023 on 21 year-round ocular allergic patients with perennial allergic conjunctivitis or atopic keratoconjunctivitis was conducted. Total Ocular Symptoms Score (TOSS) score was used. Skin Prick Test (SPT) with 7 inhalant allergens, Negative and Positive controls were applied. Participants were recruited from Benha university hospitals, Egypt after gaining ethical committee approval. Results: of our 21 participants 80.9 % (17/21) had positive Skin Prick Test. Only dust mites and cockroach allergens were significantly associated with severity. Conclusion: to our knowledge it is the first study to state that cockroach sensitivity in year-round ocular allergy is prevalent especially in atopic keratoconjunctivitis and is more commonly found in severe ocular allergy patients. So, we enrich the research in this area which could secure an adjuvant treatment that might help in controlling patients' symptoms.