Ocular findings in atopic dermatitis with special reference to the clinical features of atopic cataract

44 patients with atopic dermatitis who had had active generalized skin lesions, especially of the face, following transient remission after eczema in infancy were examined ophthalmologically. Their ocular findings have been correlated with the clinical features of atopic dermatitis. 25% of the patients with this clinical course had cataracts. However, the clinical features of the patients without cataracts were almost the same as those of the patients with. Thus, cataracts in patients with atopic dermatitis may not be due to the clinical symptoms and course but to other factors such as genetic, as in the case of asthma. Lenticular opacities were present in the posterior subcapsule in 50%, in the anterior subcapsule in 25% and throughout the lens in 12.5%. 2 patients with total lens opacities had shown rapid progression at the time of exacerbation of the skin lesions. Chronic conjunctivitis was found in 31.8%, superficial keratitis in 6.8% and retinal detachment in 2%.