The purpose of this paper is to review the pathophysiologic mechanisms, differential diagnosis, evaluation and treatment of the various manifestations of ocular allergy, with an especial focus on IgE-mediated disease.
A PubMed search was performed to include articles with the search terms ocular allergy and allergic conjunctivitis.
Recent and relevant human studies in the English language pertaining to our topic of study were selected. Animal studies pertaining to pathophysiology of ocular allergy were also reviewed. We focused on clinical trials, practice guidelines, reviews and systematic reviews. Additionally, case reports were reviewed if they described rare clinical presentations, disease mechanisms or novel therapies.
Ocular allergy encompasses both IgE as well as non-IgE mediated disease, and the clinical severity may range from mild to sight-threatening inflammation. A comprehensive treatment regimen including education, lifestyle measures, topical therapies and even systemic interventions may be necessary for the effective management of ocular allergies, tailored according to symptom severity.
Ocular allergy is frequently encountered by allergists as well as eye-care specialists, and despite progressively increasing incidence, it often remains underdiagnosed and hence untreated.
Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Inc.
The spectrum of allergic ocular diseases-2020.
