Purpose

To compare the clinical characteristics and in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) findings of patients with neuropathic corneal pain (NCP) due to refractive surgery (RS-NCP) and herpetic eye disease (H-NCP) to controls.

Methods

Sixteen patients with RS-NCP and 7 patients with H-NCP, and 37 healthy reference age- and sex-matched healthy controls were included to the study. The medical records were reviewed for demographic features, detailed disease history, ocular surface disease index (OSDI), ocular pain assessment survey (OPAS) scores. IVCM images of patients were analyzed and compared to reference controls by two masked observers.

Results

The mean pain intensity score for the last 24 h (5.1 ± 2.4 vs. 3.9 ± 1.2; p = 0.27), last 2 weeks (6.1 ± 2.5 vs. 4.8 ± 2.3; p = 0.13) for RS-NCP vs. H-NCP respectively, and quality of life scores (p = 0.23) were similar in both groups. Quality of life, especially mood (p = 0.06) and enjoying life/relations to others (p = 0.10) were affected in both groups, but were not statistically significant between groups. The mean total nerve density was lower in RS-NCP (5,702.4 ± 4,599.0 μm/mm²) compared to their respective controls (26,422.8 ± 4,491.0; p < 0.001) and in the H-NCP group (2,149.5 ± 2,985.9) compared to their respective controls (22,948.8 ± 3,169.0; p < 0.001). Alterations in DC density were similar between all groups (38.3 ± 48.0 cells/mm² in RS-NCP, 61.0 ± 76.9 in H-NCP, p = 0.95).

Conclusion

Neuropathic corneal pain patients due to refractive surgery show similar clinical characteristics, pain levels, quality of life impact, and IVCM findings as patients with NCP due to herpetic eye disease.

中文翻译：

---

屈光手术相关性和带状疱疹后神经性角膜疼痛的临床特征比较。

目的

将屈光手术 (RS-NCP) 和疱疹性眼病 (H-NCP) 引起的神经性角膜疼痛 (NCP) 患者的临床特征和体内共聚焦显微镜 (IVCM) 结果与对照组进行比较。

方法

该研究包括 16 名 RS-NCP 患者和 7 名 H-NCP 患者，以及 37 名年龄和性别匹配的健康参考健康对照。审查医疗记录的人口学特征、详细的疾病史、眼表疾病指数 (OSDI)、眼痛评估调查 (OPAS) 评分。由两名蒙面观察者分析患者的 IVCM 图像并将其与参考对照进行比较。

结果

RS-NCP 与 H- 过去 24 小时（5.1 ± 2.4 与 3.9 ± 1.2；p = 0.27）、过去 2 周（6.1 ± 2.5 与 4.8 ± 2.3；p = 0.13）的平均疼痛强度评分两组的 NCP 和生活质量评分 (p = 0.23) 相似。生活质量，尤其是情绪 (p = 0.06) 和享受生活/与他人的关系 (p = 0.10) 在两组中都受到影响，但组间没有统计学意义。RS-NCP 的平均总神经密度 (5,702.4 ± 4,599.0 μm/mm ² ) 低于其各自的对照组 (26,422.8 ± 4,491.0; p < 0.001) 和 H-NCP 组 (2,149.5 ± 2,985.9)对照（22,948.8 ± 3,169.0；p < 0.001）。DC 密度的变化在所有组之间相似（38.3 ± 48.0 个细胞/mm ² 在 RS-NCP 中，61.0 ± 76.9 在 H-NCP 中，p = 0.95）。

结论

屈光手术引起的神经性角膜疼痛患者表现出与疱疹性眼病引起的 NCP 患者相似的临床特征、疼痛水平、生活质量影响和 IVCM 结果。