[Laser Doppler flowmetry in the diagnosis of chronic mixed blepharitis].

Chronic mixed blepharitis accounts for 51.7% of all ophthalmic diseases. The use of laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) in the diagnosis of this disease can help establish the initial manifestations of the inflammatory process in the eyelids, which is important for the prevention of possible complications - dry eye disease.

Purpose: This study was conducted to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the LDF method in the diagnosis of chronic mixed blepharitis based on the study of microcirculatory changes in the eyelid skin.

Material and methods: The study included 23 patients with chronic mixed blepharitis (mean age 67±5.8 years) and 18 healthy volunteers (mean age 63±1.1 years). LDF was performed using the LAZMA MC-1 device. ROC analysis was used to determine sensitivity and specificity.

Results: A typical disturbance of the eyelid skin microcirculation was revealed in chronic mixed blepharitis - ischemia - with inhibition of the intensity of the functioning of blood flow regulatory systems and moderate activation of the lymph flow. The sensitivity and specificity of the coefficient of variation (reflecting the vasomotor activity of microvessels) of blood flow was 71.43 and 71.43%, lymph flow - 65.71 and 80.00%; myogenic rhythms of blood flow - 83.33 and 85.71%, lymph flow - 66.67 and 71.43%; neurogenic rhythms of blood flow - 75.00 and 78.57%, lymph flow - 91.67 and 78.57%, respectively.

Conclusion: Laser Doppler flowmetry of the eyelid skin in combination with clinical, functional and instrumental research methods helped reveal with high sensitivity and specificity the eyelid damage in chronic mixed blepharitis. This method allows assessment of the condition of the eyelids in individuals without diseases of the anterior segment of the eye.