BackgroundViruses are considered the most common cause of infectious conjunctivitis. PCR has been approved as the best standard method to diagnose viral conjunctivitis. This study was conducted to investigate epidemiological patterns of conjunctivitis in Hamadan, west Iran. In addition, the frequency of the most important cause of infectious conjunctivitis diagnosed by PCR and its seasonal variations and association with certain socioeconomic and health factors were studied.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, 125 patients with suspected viral conjunctivitis or keratoconjunctivitis in Hamadan, west Iran from July 2016 to June 2017 were examined for the presence of herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV1), HSV2, varicella-zoster virus (VZV), adenovirus. and Chlamydia trachomatis using multiplex real-time PCR.ResultsAdenoviruses were the most prevalent pathogens (94.4%). HSV1 was found in two (1.6%) patients. HSV2, VZV, and C. trachomatis were not seen in any patients. There was no difference in acquisition of conjunctivitis between men and women. A total of 55 (44%) patients attended the clinics in summer.ConclusionThis study demonstrated that adenoviruses were a much more common viral cause of conjunctivitis in the studied region compared to findings in other regions. In addition, the acquisition rate of eye infection is expected to decrease dramatically in this region through control of adenoviruses. Demographic variables ie, age, sex, and income level, were not significantly associated with acquisition of viral infection.

Objectives Three prior studies (2008, 2011, 2018) histopathologically compared the eyelid specimens of patients with dermatochalasis (DC, undergoing blepharoplasty) with a control group and proposed that DC may begin with subclinical inflammation leading to elastolysis and lymphostasis. With growing number of younger patients consulting for blepharoplasty, the unanswered question is whether histopathologic changes of DC differ between the younger and the older. Patients and Methods In this prospective case series, 20 right upper eyelid skin of 20 nonsmoker, class 3 Fitzpatrik skin type women (30–68 years old) were histopathologically examined. Patients were divided into 2 age groups of 50 years or older and older than 50 years. Upper eyelid skin was preoperatively marked, intraoperatively removed, postoperatively divided into 3 sections: lateral (lateral limbus to lateral canthus), central (between medial and lateral limbi), and medial (medial limbus to medial canthus), and separately (totally 60 specimens) sent for histopathological examination. A masked pathologist recorded skin thickness in all specimens (60) as well as lymphatic vessels diameter and density, elastic fiber density, macrophage number, collagen intrafibril edema, and depth of collagen stromal bed in central sections (20 specimens). Results There were 10 patients at each age group. Histopathological measurements were not significantly different between the 2 age groups except mean lymphatic vessel diameter (P = 0.034) that was larger in the second group (>50 years). A significant positive correlation was also observed between the age and lymphatic vessel diameter (r s = 0.3, P = 0.009). Conclusions Lymphangiectasia progresses significantly by age. Histopathological characteristics of DC are the same in the 2 age groups.