International Ophthalmology, cilt.38, sa.3, ss.1079-1084, 2018 (SCI-Expanded)
© 2017, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.Purpose: Seasonal allergic conjunctivitis (SAC) is an inflammatory disease of the conjunctiva. Red cell distribution width (RDW) is a widely accepted inflammatory marker. We aimed to investigate whether RDW level is associated with the development of SAC in pediatric population. Methods: The present study consisted of 90 subjects (45 children with SAC and 45 age- and sex-matched healthy children). The demographic findings, complete blood count parameters including RDW and laboratory parameters, were evaluated. Results: The mean RDW levels were significantly higher in children with SAC compared to the control group (14.02 ± 0.82 vs. 13.26 ± 0.64%, respectively, p < 0.001). In receiver operating characteristic analysis, the area under the curve for RDW for predicting SAC was 0.786, and a RDW value of 13.45 or higher predicted SAC with a sensitivity of 75.6% and specificity of 65%. Conclusion: Our study suggests that elevated RDW levels are significantly associated with SAC in pediatric population, which may imply a possible role of increased inflammatory status and oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of SAC.