Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Dec;43(12):4541-4549.
doi: 10.1007/s10792-023-02854-4. Epub 2023 Sep 5.

Allergen-specific IgE in the tear fluid of Chinese patients with common allergic conjunctivitis in autumn and winter

Hongmei Wang #  1 , Xiaodan Jiang #  1 , Pei Zhang #  1 , Yingyu Li  1 , Yiren Wang  1 , Xuemin Li  2
Affiliations

Allergen-specific IgE in the tear fluid of Chinese patients with common allergic conjunctivitis in autumn and winter

Hongmei Wang et al. Int Ophthalmol. 2023 Dec.

Abstract

Purpose: In this study, we determined the positive rates of allergen-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) in the tear fluid of Chinese patients with common allergic conjunctivitis (AC) in autumn and winter, compared systemic and ocular allergen tests, and explored the correlation between the numbers and categories of allergens and clinical AC features.

Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 44 patients with AC (86 eyes). Specific IgEs for allergens common in China (house dust mite, cat/dog dander, mugwort/ragweed pollen, cottonwood/willow/elm pollen, milk, egg whites, soybeans) were measured in collected tears using kits for allergen-specific IgE antibodies. AC signs and symptoms were graded according to severity.

Results: Specific IgE in tears was positive in 87.2% of eyes. House dust mite was the most common allergen (86.0%), followed by cat (24.4%) and dog (7.0%) dander; tree and grass pollen accounted for only 4.7% and 2.3%, respectively. Food allergens were not detected. The positive rates of the systemic allergen tests were lower than in tear fluid tests in both eyes, especially for house dust mites (P = 0.000). In patients with more allergens, itching was more severe (P = 0.035), while conjunctival hyperemia was milder (P = 0.002).

Conclusion: In autumn and winter, the most common AC allergen in Chinese patients was house dust mites. Compared with systemic allergen tests, measuring specific IgE in tears may be a non-invasive method to diagnose and evaluate AC severity, which may be more suitable to reflect the local conditions of ocular surface inflammation due to its high positive rate and convenience.

Keywords: Allergens; Allergic conjunctivitis; Positive rate; Specific IgE; Tear fluid.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Shoji J (2020) Ocular allergy test and biomarkers on the ocular surface: clinical test for evaluating the ocular surface condition in allergic conjunctival diseases. Allergol Int 69:496–504. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.alit.2020.05.003 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Leonardi A (2013) Allergy and allergic mediators in tears. Exp Eye Res 117:106–117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exer.2013.07.019 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Gomes PJ (2014) Trends in prevalence and treatment of ocular allergy. Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol 14:451–456. https://doi.org/10.1097/aci.0000000000000100 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Miyazaki D, Takamura E, Uchio E et al (2020) Japanese guidelines for allergic conjunctival diseases 2020. Allergol Int 69:346–355. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.alit.2020.03.005 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Miyazaki D, Fukagawa K, Fukushima A et al (2019) Air pollution significantly associated with severe ocular allergic inflammatory diseases. Sci Rep 9:18205. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-54841-4 - DOI - PubMed - PMC

LinkOut - more resources