Quantitative evaluation of atopic blepharitis by scoring of eyelid conditions and measuring the water content of the skin and evaporation from the eyelid surface

Purpose, To quantitatively evaluate the condition of the eyelid skin of pat ients with atopic blepharitis, their symptoms were scored and the water con tent of the skin and evaporation from the skin were measured. Methods, Fort y patients with atopic blepharitis were examined. The condition of eyelid s kin (erythema, edema/papulation/oozing/crust, excoriation/lichenification) was scored from 0 to 3 points. Water content and water evaporation were mea sured with a Moisture Checker and an evaporimeter, respectively. Eleven age -matched volunteers without atopic disorders were recruited as normal contr ols. Results. The Moisture Checker values and water evaporation from lid sk in were significantly correlated (r = -0.44, p = 0.006). The Moisture Check er Values of the patients with atopic blepharitis was 35.5 +/- 8.2% (44.7 r +/- 10.6% in the normal controls, p = 0.009), and water evaporation from t heir lid skin was 3.6 +/- 0.9 g/cm(2) per second (2.0 +/- 0.3 g/cm(2) per s econd, p < 0.001); then, the patients were divided into four groups, from " asymptomatic" to "severe," according to the sum of their blepharitis scores . Patients with lower blepharitis scores tended to have higher Moisture Che cker values and lower water evaporation values. Conclusion. Scoring of eyel id condition enabled us to objectively estimate the severity of atopic blep haritis. Measurements of the water content of lid skin and water evaporatio n from lid skin are useful in evaluation of the severity of this disease.