Comprehensive Classification of the Severity of Bulbar and Tarsal Hyperemia in Conjunctivitis

Abstract

Diagnosis of conjunctivitis is an urgent problem in ophthalmic practice, since conjunctivitis is one of the most common reasons for patients to visit a doctor. An important aspect in diagnosing of the conjunctivа’s inflammation is to determine the intensity of the inflammatory process in each case, in which hyperemia is given priority, as the most demonstrative sign of inflammation. Currently, there are many subjective and non-invasive instrumental methods for assessing conjunctival hyperemia. Taking into account the fact that most of the instrumental methods are aimed to assess the state of the bulbar conjunctiva and there are practically no methods that allow assessing the severity of tarsal hyperemia, it is necessary to develop a methodology that allows to evaluate both these indicators in combination. In this regard, it is great interest to determine the degree of hyperemia during a biomicroscopic examination in combination with visualization and fixation of hyperemia indicators using the software of the MediWorks Dixion S 350 slit lamp (weak, medium, significant, severe) depending on the index of hyperemia obtained by fixing the image on the slit lamp. Standardization of the severity indicators of conjunctival hyperemia allows to obtaine objective data on the state of the tarsal and bulbar conjunctiva at all stages of observation. In addition, based on the above indicators in clinical practice, the ophthalmologist can prescribe an adequate amount of drug therapy, this will increase the level of safety and effectiveness of the therapy, which is especially important at the stage of primary outpatient admission, when treatment is usually prescribed empirically