Preocular Tear Film Tests in Acute Hemorrhagic Conjunctivitis Caused by Coxsackievirus A24 Variant

Pur po se: Our aim was to evaluate the preocular tear film in patients who had acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis (AHC) caused by coxsackievirus A24 variant (CVA24v). Ma te ri als and Met hod: Seventy-six patients having AHC caused by CVA24v were enrolled in this study. An AHC outbreak was seen in Istanbul during August and September 2010 and lasted for four weeks. All the patients were seen at the first days of their disease period and none of them had received any treatment before. Conjunctival swab specimens were taken from the patients at their first visit. Tear film tests including Schirmer test, tear meniscus height measurement and tear break-up time (TBUT) were done in all patients. Re sults: The mean age of the patients was 27.8 years (range: 7-68 years). Forty patients were male (53%) and 36 patients were female (47%). In bilateral conjunctivitis cases, the mean Schirmer test result was 23.7±4.7 mm, mean TBUT was 15.1±2.4 seconds and the mean tear meniscus height was 0.37±0.06 mm. In unilateral conjunctivitis cases, the mean Schirmer test result was 24.4±3.6 mm, mean TBUT was 15.1±2.3 seconds and the mean tear meniscus height was 0.38±0.07 mm in the diseased eyes. Dis cus si on: The results of the routine preocular tear film tests did not differ in AHC caused by CVA24v when compared with healthy eyes. (Turk J Ophthalmol 2012; 42: 186-9)