Atopic Dieae and Herpe implex Eye Dieae: A Population-Baed Cae-Control tudy Original Reearch Article

Purpoe To determine whether atopy i aociated with herpe implex viru (HV) ocular dieae. Deign Retropective, population-baed, cae-control tudy. Method etting: Large, regional health maintenance organization (Northern California Kaier Permanente). tudy Population: 1,042,351 people over a one-year period. obervation Procedure: Electronic databae earch for HV ocular dieae and ubequent chart review determined tudy eligibility. Two age-matched control group (one population-baed and one clinic-baed) were randomly choen. Medical record review determined the preence of atopy. evere atopic dieae wa defined by diagnotic code or illne requiring an emergency room viit, hopitalization, or treatment with a ytemic corticoteroid. main Outcome Meaure: Preence of HV eye dieae, preence of atopy, and characterization of atopy everity. Reult HV eye dieae wa found in 172 patient. HV cae had a greater prevalence of atopy (34%, 58/172) than the clinic-baed (25%, 43/172) or the population-baed control (21%, 36/172, odd ratio (OR) 1.5, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.9 to 2.6 and OR 1.9, 95%, CI 1.1 to 3.3, repectively). The aociation of HV ocular dieae with evere atopy wa even greater, with a hitory of evere atopic dieae in 13% (22/172) of patient with HV ocular dieae a compared with 6% (11/172) of patient in the clinic control group and 3% (5/172) of patient in the population control group (OR 2.0, 95% CI 0.7 to 5.9 and OR 4.8, 95% CI 1.6 to 19.2, repectively). Concluion Patient with HV ocular dieae are more likely to have a hitory of atopic dieae, epecially evere atopic dieae, than age-matched control.