Some aspects of laboratory diagnostics of ophthalmodemodecosis

Abstract

Demodicosis occupies a leading position among all dermatoses. According to ICD-10, it is not distinguished as a separate disease; it belongs to the class of parasitic diseases. The relevance of studying the problem of ophthalmodemodecosis is caused by its high prevalence and contagiousness, chronic course, an open issue of the role of the Demodex mite in the occurrence of inflammatory eye diseases, as well as the lack of effective methods for treating and preventing this pathology. In addition, Demodex causes discomfort and contributes to the occurrence of cosmetic defects, which in turn worsens the patient’s quality of life.The aim. To present a review of the literature data and our own results of laboratory diagnostics of ophthalmodemodecosis.Materials and methods. The article presents clinical cases of demodectic eyelid lesions with different disease outcomes in case of similar treatment. Laboratory diagnostics included drawing up an acarogram. Epilated eyelashes were used as a material for detecting mites on eyelids. Counting of individuals was carried out using light microscopy; all forms of mite development were taken into account. The work presents the statistics on the frequency of examination of patients with suspected demodicosis at different times of the year, confirming the seasonality of this disease. The literature review included data on the history of studying the Demodex mite, existing hypotheses and theories about its pathogenesis, as well as the information on domestic and foreign methods of treating ophthalmodecosis, including modern hardware techniques.Results. Demodex mites play a significant role in the development of blepharitis and blepharoconjunctivitis. It is important to consider that demodicosis can occur against the background of inflammatory eye diseases of another etiology. Therapy for  ophthalmodemodecosis currently remains complex, lengthy and  ineffective. When assessing the results of an acarogram, any detected stages of a mite are clinically significant, and there isn’t a direct relationship between the number of detected mites and the severity of clinical manifestations in all cases.