Correlations Between Histopathologic Changes and Clinical Features in Pterygia.

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Pathology

Background:

• Pterygium is a common ocular surface condition.
• Understanding the relationship between clinical presentation and underlying tissue changes is crucial for diagnosis and management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To correlate clinical findings of pterygium with histopathologic features.
• To investigate associations between pterygium size, redness, fleshiness, and specific tissue changes.

Main Methods:

• Prospective study of 70 eyes with primary pterygia undergoing surgical excision.
• Clinical assessment included corneal extension, redness, fleshiness, and plica semilunaris obliteration.
• Histopathologic evaluation used H&E and trichrome staining for vascularity, fibrosis, and elastosis.

Main Results:

• Pterygium redness correlated with vascular density (P=0.04).
• Pterygium fleshiness correlated with stromal fibrosis (P=0.04).
• Larger pterygia correlated with corneal extension, plica obliteration, increased vascularity, and decreased stromal elastosis.

Conclusions:

• Clinical features of pterygium, such as redness and fleshiness, are linked to distinct histopathologic characteristics.
• Pterygium size is associated with more pronounced clinical and microscopic changes.