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A new method for measuring progression in patients with ocular cicatricial pemphigoid
J James Rowsey1, Yolanda Macias-Rodriguez, Chris Cukrowski
1Department of Cornea and External Diseases, St Luke's Cataract and Laser Institute, Tarpon Springs, Fl 34688-5000, USA. jrowsey@tampabay.rr.com
Objectives:
To describe a method to measure the progression of ocular cicatricial pemphigoid and to compare its facility with traditional methods used to measure the progression of the disease.
Methods:
The proposed method consists of measuring (in millimeters) the total relative inferior conjunctival surface available in 3 gaze positions. This method was used to monitor 7 eyes of 4 patients with ocular cicatricial pemphigoid over 2 years. The changes in the conjunctival measurements from baseline were compared with the changes documented by traditional methods.
Results:
During the study, 2 eyes remained stable (changes, <3 mm), 2 had a decrease of 10 mm or more, and 3 had a change in measurements between 4 and 9 mm. With the proposed method, we demonstrated the detection of more subtle changes in the conjunctiva of all patients. Patients who had changes between 4 and 9 mm easily underwent staging by the traditional systems when the new technique was used as a reference.
Conclusion:
The proposed method offers an objective variable that can be used in consecutive visits to detect subtle progression or disease control in patients with ocular cicatricial pemphigoid.