Vernal keratoconjunctivitis: the significance of immunoglobulin E levels in tears and serum.

Vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VC) is an inflammatory disorder of the outer eye, probably of allergic etiology. The present study was performed on patients with a typical clinical appearance of VC and examined periodically for serum and tear IgE and albumin (HSA). The geometric mean of serum and tear IgE was 219 and 18 IU/ml, respectively, for the patients, but about 100 and less than 1 IU/ml for serum and tears of healthy controls and of parents of VC patients. A positive correlation between variations in tear IgE and tear HSA was observed, indicating that tear IgE levels have a significant influence on the intensity of the inflammatory process.