In Vivo Confocal Microscopy of Long-standing Mixed-form Vernal Keratoconjunctivitis

Abstract

Purpose: To report the morphological characteristics of long-term mixed-form vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) using in vivo laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM).

Design: Descriptive case report.

Methods: In vivo LSCM was performed on a Chinese patient diagnosed as bilateral mixed-form VKC for 14 years. Central cornea, inferior limbus, bulbar conjunctiva, and upper tarsal conjunctiva of both eyes were examined.

Results: Infiltration of numerous dendritic cells and inflammatory cells in both bulbar conjunctiva and tarsal conjunctiva were identified under in vivo LSCM, along with proliferation of fibrous tissue in the conjunctival stroma and damage of Vogt palisades. Apart from abnormal appearance of corneal epithelial cells, the infiltration of dendritic cells was occasionally found in the cornea.

Conclusions: In vivo LSCM is a useful tool to evaluate the morphology of VKC.

KEYWORDS::

• Confocal microscopy
• conjunctiva
• cornea
• limbus
• vernal keratoconjunctivitis

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The research is supported by Scientific Research Grants from Bureau Public Health of Shanghai (2006014) and National Natural Science Grant (30901633). The authors thank Yuhong Chen for her help in correcting linguistic errors in the manuscript preparation.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Note: Figure 1 in this article is available in colour online at www.informahealthcare.com/oii.