Background: Ocular allergy is a heterogeneous disorder in which allergic inflammation plays a major role. its manifestation may be seasonal or a perennial with a yearround moderate to severe symptoms like in perennial allergic conjunctivitis (PAC) or Atopic keratoconjunctivitis (AKC). Objectives: Our goal is to determine sensitization prevalence of inhalant allergens in ocular allergy. Patients and Methods: a cross sectional study conducted from November 2022 to March 2023 on 22 year-round ocular allergic patients with perennial allergic conjunctivitis or atopic keratoconjunctivitis was conducted. Total Ocular Symptoms Score (TOSS) score was used to measure the severity of ocular allergy. Skin Prick test with 7 inhalant allergens, negative and positive control were applied. Participants were recruited from Benha University Hospitals, Egypt after gaining ethical committee approval. Results: 80.9 % (17/21) had positive Skin Prick Test of our 22 participants. Only cockroach and dust mites’ allergens were significantly associated with ocular allergy severity. Conclusion: to our knowledge it is the first study to state that cockroach sensitivity in year-round ocular allergy has higher prevalence especially in atopic keratoconjunctivitis and is more commonly found in severe ocular allergy patients. So, we enrich the research in this area which could secure an adjuvant treatment that might help in controlling patients’ symptoms. Keywords: Ocular allergy, Inhalant allergens, Sensitization, Skin prick tests |
