XXXX : a cross-sectional study.

@entity1 @entity1036 @entity566 @entity56 @entity2024 @entity5902
BACKGROUND: Ocular @entity566 is a common disease in daily practice. OBJECTIVES: A cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate clinical aspects of and therapeutic approaches to @entity566 in Italy. METHODS: Of the 3685 @entity1 affected by @entity566 and enrolled by 304 ophthalmologists nationally, 3545 were eligible to be included in the statistical analysis. A questionnaire was administered in-office to record demographic data, co-morbidities, trigger factors, number of @entity2024 episodes and past treatments. Signs and symptoms were graded according to their severity, frequency and duration. RESULTS: Mean age of enrolled @entity1 was 38  19 years. @entity56 (55% of @entity1 ) was equally distributed among the different age groups, while @entity56 (18%) increased with age and @entity5902 (9%) was more frequent under the age of 18. Itching and redness were reported in 90% and 85%, respectively; lid skin involvement was observed in 22% of cases, and @entity1036 in 11%. Pollen sensitivities were indicated as the most frequent triggers, however, exposure to non-specific environmental conditions, pollutants and cigarette smoke was frequently reported. Only 35% of @entity1 underwent a diagnostic evaluation of specific allergic sensitization, with positive @entity566 tests found in 82% of this subset. With regard to treatment, topical decongestants were used in 43% of @entity1 , corticosteroids in 41%, antihistamines in 29%, systemic antihistamines in 27%, and mast cell stabilizers in 15%. CONCLUSION: This survey provided useful epidemiological information regarding the clinical characteristics and treatment options of a large cohort of @entity1 affected by different forms of @entity566 . CLINICAL RELEVANCE: An understanding of @entity56 , its incidence, demographics and treatment paradigms, provides important information towards understanding its pharmacoeconomics and burden on the national health system. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
