title: Correlations Between Allergen-Specific IgE Serum Levels in Patients With Ocular Allergy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate ocular allergies in patients at the Hospital do Servidor Publico Estadual de Sao Paulo (HSPE) and the correlations with serum allergen-specific immunoglobulin E levels.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a longitudinal study of patients with ocular allergies who were treated at the Cornea and Immunology and Allergy Department. Patients underwent an ophthalmologic examination to identify their primary presenting signs and symptoms. The allergy types were divided into 4 groups. We conducted the following laboratory tests and measurements: blood count, eosinophil count, total serum IgE, and specific IgE.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among 61 patients, 16 (26.2%) had a clinical diagnosis of seasonal allergic conjunctivitis, 23 (37.7%) had perennial allergic conjunctivitis, 19 (31.1%) had vernal keratoconjunctivitis, and 3 (4.9%) had atopic keratoconjunctivitis. Mixed dust mites were positive in 94.9% of patients. Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (dp) and Dermatophagoides farinae (df) antigens were positive in 93.2% of patients followed by Blattella germanica, Blomia tropicalis, and mixed animal epithelia (81%, 75.9%, and 25.8%, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Perennial allergic conjunctivitis was the most prevalent disorder and demonstrated higher positivity in class V/VI for specific antigens (mixed dust mites, dp, and df), indicating high antigenicity. Dust mites, D. pteronyssinus, D. farinae, B. germanica, and B. tropicalis were the primary triggers of the studied ocular allergies.
authors.affiliation: *Department of Ophthalmology, HSPE/SP, Sao Paulo, Brazil; †Department of Ophthalmology, UNIFESP/EPM, Sao Paulo, Brazil; ‡Attending Medical, Department of Ophthalmology UFES, Vitória, Brazil; §Department of Allergy and Immunology, IAMSPE/HSPE, São Paulo, Brazil; ¶Department of Ophthalmology, UNIFESP/EPM, Sao Paulo, Brazil; ‖Division of Cornea, Department of Ophthalmology, IAMSPE/HSPE, Sao Paulo, Brazil; and **Department of Ophthalmology, IAMSPE/HSPE, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Júlia Gomes Fernandes
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Polido
authors.forename: Thiago
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cabral
authors.forename: Paula de Resende Campos
authors.initials: Pde R
authors.lastname: Perini
authors.forename: Maria de Fátima Marcelos
authors.initials: Mde F
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.forename: Denise
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: de Freitas
authors.forename: Maria Emília Xavier
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: dos Santos Araújo
authors.forename: Pedro Durães
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Serracarbassa
mesh_terms: D040041:Acaridae / Q000276:immunology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000485:Allergens / Q000276:immunology*; D000818:Animals; D039741:Antigens, Dermatophagoides / Q000276:immunology; D001772:Blood Cell Count; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003058:Cockroaches / Q000276:immunology; D003233:Conjunctivitis, Allergic / Q000276:immunology*; D004804:Eosinophils / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000097:blood*; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens; D039741:Antigens, Dermatophagoides; D019476:Insect Proteins; D007073:Immunoglobulin E