Cosimo Mazzotta
University of Siena, Italy
Title: Keratoconus progression in pediatric patients with allergy and elevated surface matrix metalloproteinase 9 point-of-care test vs. negative patients
Biography
Biography: Cosimo Mazzotta
Abstract
Purpose: To assess keratoconus (KC) progression in pediatric patients with allergies who tested positive to surface matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) point-of-care tests versus negative patients.
Methods: Prospective comparative study including 100 stage I-II keratoconic patients, mean age 15. All patients underwent an anamnestic questionnaire for concomitant allergic diseases and were screened with the MMP-9 point-of-care test. Patients were divided into 2 groups: KC patients with allergies (KC AL) and KC patients without allergies (KC NAL). Severity of allergy was established by papillary sub-tarsal response grade (PSR) and keratoconus progression assessed by corneal tomography, and corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA) measurement in a 12-month follow-up.
Results: The KC AL group included 52 patients and the KC NAL group 48. In the KC AL group 42/52 of patients (81%) were positive to MMP-9 point-of-care test vs. 2 positive patients in the KC NAL group (4%). The KC AL group data showed a statistically significant decrease of average CDVA, from 0.155±1.1 to 0.301±1.2 log MAR (p<0.005) at 12 months; K max value increased significantly, from 50.2 D±2.7 to 55.2 D±1.9 on average. The KC NAL group revealed a slight keratoconus progression without statistically significant changes. Person’s correlation test showed a high correlation between K max worsening and severity of PRG in the KC AL group.
Conclusions: The study demonstrated a statistically significant progression of KC in pediatric patients with concomitant allergies, positive to MMP-9 point-of-care test vs. negative. A high correlation between severity of allergy and keratoconus progression was documented.
