Unilateral vernal keratoconjunctivitis: a case report

A rare case of unilateral vernal keratoconjunctivitis is presented.

A 5-year-old boy had itching, foreign body sensation, redness, and ptosis in his left eye. Impression cytology specimens were taken from both upper eyelid tarsal conjunctiva.

On slit-lamp biomicroscopy, unilateral cobblestone papillae and a shield ulcer were found in the left eye. On impression cytology examination, there was a significant increase in inflammation, presence of a honeycomb pattern, plasma cells, and mucus strands in the upper tarsal conjunctiva of the specimens.

Giant papillary conjunctivitis must be considered in differential diagnosis of unilateral vernal conjunctivitis. Impression cytology method may be combined with the clinical findings in vernal keratoconjunctivitis diagnosis.