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The ocular surface findings in alopecia areata patients: clinical parameters and impression cytology

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Abstract

Purpose

The objective of this study was to examine the effects of alopecia areata (AA) on the ocular surface and conjunctival cytology.

Methods

A total of 48 subjects were included in the present study. Twenty-three subjects were assigned to group 1 as the patient group, and 25 healthy individuals were included in group 2 as the control group. The ocular surface examination was performed, and the right eyes of all participants were included in the analysis. Both groups underwent the following tests for evaluation of ocular surface: tear break-up time (TBUT), Schirmer I test, Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI), and conjunctival impression cytology (CIC). Results obtained from the tests were then analyzed and compared between the groups.

Results

The mean TBUT value was significantly lower in Group 1 compared to Group 2 (4.96 ± 3.4 vs 10.52 ± 4.8 s) (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference between Group 1 and Group 2 in terms of the mean Schirmer I test score (p = 0.129). The mean OSDI score was higher in Group 1 compared to Group 2 (15.48 ± 10.4 vs 9.61 ± 13.4), but the difference between both groups was not statistically significant (p = 0.1). The mean CIC score was statistically significantly higher in Group 1 than in Group 2 (1.65 ± 0.7 vs 0.52 ± 0.5) (p < 0.001).

Conclusion

The results of this study showed that AA was correlated with significant disturbances in conjunctival cytology and the tear function.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

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Acknowledgements

This study was approved by the Clinical Research Ethics Committee of the Necmettin Erbakan University Meram Faculty of Medicine.

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None.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pathology Department, Necmettin Erbakan University, Meram Faculty of Medicine, Konya, Turkey

    Pembe Oltulu & Fahriye Kilinc

  2. Ophthalmology Department, Necmettin Erbakan University, Meram Faculty of Medicine, Konya, Turkey

    Refik Oltulu, Selman Belviranli & Enver Mirza

  3. Ophthalmology Department, Dr. Ersin Arslan Training and Research Hospital, Gaziantep, Turkey

    Huseyin Bugra Turk

  4. Pathology Department, Gaziantep 25 Aralık State Hospital, Gaziantep, Turkey

    Nazli Turk

  5. Dermatology Department, Necmettin Erbakan University, Meram Faculty of Medicine, Konya, Turkey

    Arzu Ataseven

Authors
  1. Pembe Oltulu
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  2. Refik Oltulu
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  3. Huseyin Bugra Turk
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  4. Nazli Turk
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  5. Fahriye Kilinc
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  6. Selman Belviranli
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  7. Enver Mirza
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  8. Arzu Ataseven
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Contributions

These authors contributed equally to this work. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Refik Oltulu.

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Oltulu, P., Oltulu, R., Turk, H.B. et al. The ocular surface findings in alopecia areata patients: clinical parameters and impression cytology. Int Ophthalmol 42, 7–12 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10792-021-01991-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10792-021-01991-y

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