Ocular surface disorder in pterygium: role of conjunctival impression cytology.
OBJECTIVE
To study ocular surface abnormalities in patients with pterygium, conjunctival impression cytology was explored as a tool for the assessment of the cytological changes.


METHODS
A comparative case control study was undertaken to evaluate the ocular surface disorders in pterygium. Fifty cases of pterygium and 50 age and sex-matched controls were analyzed for the presence of local tear film abnormalities as assessed by the tear film break up time and Schirmer test. The spectrum of changes in cytomorphology was studied in detail using conjunctival imprint cytology.


RESULTS
Tear film break-up time and Schirmer's strip wetting were found to be significantly different in study and control groups. Studying the cytomorphology of the conjunctival imprint smears, reduced cellularity and squamous metaplasia of different grades was observed more frequently in patients compared to controls. On overall grading of cytological changes, statistically significant difference was noted between the study and control groups (P value 0.00172).


CONCLUSIONS
From the present study we can suggest that aqueous tear film deficiency leading to ocular surface disorder brings about a change at the cytological level, and ocular surface disorders found in pterygium can be interpreted by conjunctival impression cytology.
Department of Pathology, Medical College, Kolkata-700 073, India. drranjanapatho@gmail.com
Ranjana
R
Bandyopadhyay
Dipanwita
D
Nag
Santosh K
SK
Mondal
Susmita
S
Gangopadhyay
Ketaki
K
Bagchi
Gautam
G
Bhaduri
D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003228:Conjunctiva / Q000473:pathology*; D003584:Cytological Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D003941:Diagnostic Techniques, Ophthalmological; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011625:Pterygium / Q000473:pathology*