Clinical manifestations of 172 patients with blepharokeratoconjunctivitis

To summarize the clinical characteristics, diagnosis, and treatment of blepharokeratoconjunctivitis (BKC).Retrospective analysis. One hundred and seventy-two patients were diagnosed as BKC between January 2012 and December 2014 at Beijing Tongren Hospital. The clinical characteristics, the degrees of blepharitis and BKC, and the therapeutic effect were evaluated.The patients were aged from 2 to 78 years (mean, 27±18 years). Forty-nine patients (28.5%) were males, and 123 patients (71.5%) were females. One hundred and five patients had photograph records of lid margin, cornea, and conjunctiva. BKC was unilateral in 28 (26.7%) of them, and bilateral in 68 (64.8%) with similar degrees and in 9 (8.6%) with different degrees. The disease was mild in 39 patients (40.6%), moderate in 24 patients (25.0%), and severe in 33 patients (34.4%). There was no significant difference in the degree of BKC between males and females (χ(2)=1.022, P=0.600). A total of 1 875 patients were diagnosed as blepharitis during the same period, and 172 patients (9.2%) were complicated by BKC. Female patients with blepharitis were more susceptible to BKC (χ(2)=8.355, P<0.05). Among the children patients with blepharitis, the incidence of BKC was significantly higher than that in the other groups (χ(2)=224.566, P< 0.05), but in the degree of BKC, there was no significant difference among groups. Typical clinical findings consisted of punctuate epithelial and subepithelial haze, stromal infiltrates, corneal ulcer, corneal scar, and corneal pannus. The patients were followed up for 1 to 80 months (mean, 7 months). According to the different degrees of BKC, the patients were given treatment for 1 month. Sixty-nine patients (71.9%) had clinical recovery, and the other cases were improved obviously. Nine patients (15 eyes) had recurred BKC during the follow-up period, and the recurrence rate was 9.2%.BKC is not uncommon in patients suffering blepharitis, with a variety of clinical characteristics. Female and children patients with blepharitis are more susceptible to BKC. It is vital to perform standardized diagnosis and treatment for improvement of therapeutic effect.