AIM: To find out the most common primary diseases of drug-induced keratoconjunctivitis.

METHODS: The clinical records of 18 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of drug-induced keratoconjunctivitis were retrospectively reviewed. Primary diseases, categories of induced-drugs, numbers of daily drops, characteristics of keratoconjunctivitis, treatment, epithelization period, and un-corrected visual acuity(UCVA)were studied. Data were analyzed by SPSS 18.0. P<0.05 were considered statistically significant.

RESULTS: Primary diseases included glaucoma(n=6), herpes simplex keratitis(n=6; two patients were post-surgery of cataract), herpes zoster keratitis(n=1), keratitis after corneal foreign body taken(n=1)and keratitis/corneal ulcer with unknown etiology(n=4). Mean number of drugs was 3.3±1.5 and the frequency was 9±3.9 times a day. Keratopathy was found in 16 cases, while conjunctival changes were found only in 3 cases(One patient got corneal and conjunctival changes simultaneously). Withdrawing the drugs, preservative-free lubricants or autologous serum, and topical low dose steroid drops were used for treatment. After a mean period of 7±2.8d, symptoms began to relieve. The mean epithelization period was 21±8.8d. Mean pretreatment and post-treatment UCVA was 0.15±0.13 and 0.43±0.27, respectively(P=0.003).

CONCLUSION: Viral keratitis and glaucoma are the most often events of drug-induced keratoconjunctivitis.