The diagnostic value of the laser Doppler flowmetry in the diagnosis of chronic mixed blepharitis

Relevance Chronic mixed blepharitis is highly prevalent (51.7%) in the structure of ophthalmologic diseases. The use of laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) for diagnosing this disease allows us to identify early signs of inflammation in the eyelid tissues, which is of key importance for timely therapy and prevention of complications [1–4]. Objective To evaluate the diagnostic value of the LDF method by determining its sensitivity and specificity in diagnosing chronic mixed blepharitis based on the study of microcirculatory changes in the skin of the eyelids. Material and methods The study included 23 patients (46 eyes) with chronic mixed blepharitis (Group 1) and 18 healthy volunteers (36 eyes) without anterior eye diseases (Group 2). The LDF was performed using the LAZMA MC1 device. Statistical processing was performed using Microsoft Office Excel 2019, IBM SPSS Statistics 22, GraphPad Prism 6 for Windows. Diagnostic significance was assessed using ROC analysis. Results According to LDF, chronic blepharitis is characterized by ischemia, decreased activity of regulatory mechanisms of blood flow and moderate activation of lymph flow. The most sensitive diagnostic test is the determination of myogenic oscillations of blood flow, its indicator was 83.33%, and neurogenic oscillations of lymph flow - 75%. The most specific is the determination of myogenic oscillations of blood flow, this indicator was 85.71%, the variation coefficient (characterizing vasomotor activity) for lymph flow - 80%, and neurogenic oscillations of lymph flow - 78.57%. Conclusion The LDF method has a high diagnostic value and helps in early detection of microcirculatory changes in the eyelids and the appointment of appropriate therapy, which allows increasing the effectiveness of chronic blepharitis treatment with monitoring the dynamics of recovery processes and preventing complications [3]. Keywords: laser Doppler flowmetry; blepharitis4 microcirculation