부산대학교 도서관

Purpose: To explore the burden, clinical features and associations of trichiasis due to trachomatous and non-trachomatous aetiologies. Methods: Consenting patients presenting with trichiasis of either eyelid (of one or both eyes) attending the outpatient department, cornea and oculoplasty clinics of a tertiary eye care hospital in New Delhi between August 2018 to March 2020 were included. A comprehensive examination including visual acuity and anterior segment evaluation and photography was performed. Grade of trichiasis, laterality, presence and grade of entropion, and information on corneal opacity, conjunctival scarring, Herbert's pits, and pannus, if present, were recorded in the case record form. Results: Overall, 302 patients (454 eyes) with trichiasis were recruited. The most common attributed cause of upper eyelid trichiasis (276 patients, 405 eyes) was trachoma (26% of patients), followed by Stevens-Johnson syndrome (23%), blepharokeratoconjunctivitis (17%) and old age (10%). A total of 296/405 eyes (73%) had some form of corneal involvement. Trachoma was not identified as the cause of trichiasis in any eye with lower eyelid-only disease. Conclusion: Only about a quarter of upper eyelid trichiasis in this peri-elimination setting was attributed to trachoma. A distinction between trachomatous and non-trachomatous trichiasis is imperative to meaningfully determine whether elimination of trachoma as a public health problem has occurred. These data may have implications for population-based estimates of TT prevalence in India and other peri-elimination settings. Author summary: "Elimination of trachoma as a public health problem" is defined in part by the presence of very low proportions of the population demonstrating the clinical sign "trachomatous trichiasis". Trichiasis is the condition in which eyelashes touch the eyeball. But determining whether trichiasis is trachomatous in origin requires expertise that most graders who contribute to field-based surveys do not have; the right approach has therefore been debated. We undertook a twenty-month prospective study of trichiasis in a tertiary eye care hospital in New Delhi, using expert examiners. The setting is important here because India is very close to having each district demonstrate a prevalence of upper eyelid trichiasis lower than the agreed elimination threshold prevalence for trachomatous trichiasis. Our data suggest that only 26% of upper eyelid trichiasis in this setting was attributable to trachoma. Trachoma was not identified as the cause of trichiasis in any eye with lower eyelid-only disease, supporting the recent change in definition of trachomatous trichiasis to include only disease affecting the upper eyelid. However, better ways to routinely distinguish trachomatous from non-trachomatous trichiasis are still needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]