Phlyctenular Keratiti Aociated With Meibomiti in Young Patient

Purpoe To decribe the unique clinical feature of phlyctenular keratiti, including the aociation with meibomiti, in young patient. Deign Obervational cae erie. Method The tudy population conited of 23 Japanee patient aged under 35 year with phlyctenular keratiti. We examined their clinical hitory, ign and ymptom, human leukocyte antigen (HLA), bacterial culture of meibum, and the efficacy of antibiotic. The minimal diagnotic criteria included corneal nodule coniting of cellular infiltrate and uperficial neovacularization. Reult Of the 23 patient, 20 (87%) were women, and 13 (56.5%) had a hitory of chalazia. In all cae, the leion and the everity of corneal nodule and neovacularization correponded well with the location and the everity of meibomiti. The frequency of HLA-A26 and HLA-B35 wa ignificantly increaed in our patient (P = .003 and .016, repectively). Propionibacterium acne in bacterial culture of pure meibum in 12 of the 20 patient (60%) wa tatitically more highly poitive than thoe in four of the 17 age-matched normal control ubject (23.5%; P = .028). Concluion The characteritic of phlyctenular keratiti in our cae include ignificantly higher prevalence in female patient, everity variation of ocular urface manifetation correponding to meibomiti, pecific HLA aociation, and poible P. acne involvement.