Considerations Upon Pterygium Perception in Terms of Symptoms Induced by Inflammatory Response, According to Sex and Age

Abstract

Pterygium is a common eye disease, which affects both males and females, and is usually described by most patients as painless and unaesthetic. In case pterygium is symptomatic, the perceived ocular discomfort level is determined by a series of symptoms, among which we have studied tearing, foreign body sensation and blurred vision. Based on patients� evaluation, we have generated a perception score regrouping the presence or absence of symptoms, and we have analysed it according to various age decades and sex. In this study, our data revealed a correlation between the presence of the studied symptoms and the size of the lesion measured when patients opted for professional medical care (P [ 0.01). We have also determined that males and females with similar lesions in terms of size have a different perception upon pterygium; there are also differences regarding symptoms presence or absence, for various age decades and lifestyle context. In general, pterygium perception score indicated that males are more constant in their evaluation, presenting increased score values for higher ages; females tend to seek out medical treatment later than males, especially for higher ages, and present greater perception scores which do not seem to be correlated with age decades.