TY - JOUR

T1 - Prevalence of allergic sensitization with vernal keratoconjunctivitis

T2 - A systematic review with meta-analyses

AU - Rasmussen, Marie Louise Roed

AU - D'Souza, Maria

AU - Topal, Divan Gabriel

AU - Gradman, Josefine

AU - Larsen, Dorte Ancher

AU - Lehrmann, Bettina Behrmann

AU - Kjær, Henrik Fomsgaard

AU - Kessel, Line

AU - Subhi, Yousif

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors. Acta Ophthalmologica published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica Foundation.

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - To determine the prevalence of allergic sensitization in patients with vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) and to provide an overview of published studies on this topic. We systematically searched 11 literature databases on 24 May 2021, for studies with cross-sectional data on the prevalence of positive allergy tests in patients with VKC. Our main outcome of interest was the prevalence of allergic sensitization and the allergens involved. Prevalence meta-analyses were made to provide summary estimates. We identified 33 eligible studies for qualitative review with 2122 patients with VKC. Studies were predominantly based on patients seen in ophthalmology clinics. Overall, studies reported that the most prevalent positive allergen tests were the inhaled allergens house dust mites and pollen. Twenty-nine studies were eligible for the quantitative analysis. Here, we calculated the prevalence of allergen-positive patients to 57.7% (95% confidence interval: 52.5%–62.8%). Subgroup analyses of pooled estimates on sensitization based on specific testing methods found prevalence estimates of 51.4% for conjunctival provocation test, 68.7% for total tear IgE, 58.9% for specific tear IgE, and 58.2% for skin prick test. The prevalence of allergic sensitization in patients with VKC is 57.7%, and mostly towards inhaled allergens. The most frequent positive allergens are house dust mites and pollen. Identifying possible clinically relevant allergens provide information that may aid in managing VKC, such as environmental allergy-avoidance or allergy-specific treatment.

AB - To determine the prevalence of allergic sensitization in patients with vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) and to provide an overview of published studies on this topic. We systematically searched 11 literature databases on 24 May 2021, for studies with cross-sectional data on the prevalence of positive allergy tests in patients with VKC. Our main outcome of interest was the prevalence of allergic sensitization and the allergens involved. Prevalence meta-analyses were made to provide summary estimates. We identified 33 eligible studies for qualitative review with 2122 patients with VKC. Studies were predominantly based on patients seen in ophthalmology clinics. Overall, studies reported that the most prevalent positive allergen tests were the inhaled allergens house dust mites and pollen. Twenty-nine studies were eligible for the quantitative analysis. Here, we calculated the prevalence of allergen-positive patients to 57.7% (95% confidence interval: 52.5%–62.8%). Subgroup analyses of pooled estimates on sensitization based on specific testing methods found prevalence estimates of 51.4% for conjunctival provocation test, 68.7% for total tear IgE, 58.9% for specific tear IgE, and 58.2% for skin prick test. The prevalence of allergic sensitization in patients with VKC is 57.7%, and mostly towards inhaled allergens. The most frequent positive allergens are house dust mites and pollen. Identifying possible clinically relevant allergens provide information that may aid in managing VKC, such as environmental allergy-avoidance or allergy-specific treatment.

KW - IgE

KW - meta-analysis

KW - skin prick test

KW - systematic review

KW - vernal keratoconjunctivitis

U2 - 10.1111/aos.15212

DO - 10.1111/aos.15212

M3 - Review

C2 - 35848379

AN - SCOPUS:85135093427

VL - 101

SP - 9

EP - 21

JO - Acta Ophthalmologica

JF - Acta Ophthalmologica

SN - 1755-375X

IS - 1

ER -