Dr.Ms. NEHA PANICKAR

Dr. K.S. SIDDHARTHAN, Dr.Jagadeesh Kumar Reddy K, Dr.Anushri Agrawal

Abstract

AIM:To assess the serum IgE levels in keratoconus(KC) patients and correlate it with severity of disease.DESIGN-Case control study.METHOD-baseline investigations were carried out in 62 patients aged 10-25 years to form two groups-CASES(diagnosed with KC) and Controls .Blood samples taken from both the groups were assessed for serum IgE levels.Also, IgE levels and stage of KC(based on Amsler Krumeich classification) amongst the cases was further assessed.RESULTS-94% out of 31 cases had high serum IgE levels(above 200 IU/ml), while only 10% of the controls had serum IgE levels above 200 IU/ml.Although,the difference between the mean IgE levels of the 4 stages of KC was statistically significant(p<0.05),no definite correlation between IgE levels and severity of KC was found.CONCLUSION-This study highlights the possible role of IgE as an immunological marker for early diagnosis of the disease and for screening of high risk groups for KC and recommends IgE testing for the same.