A STUDY OF FLOPPY EYELID SYNDROME AND ITS OPHTHALMIC AND SYSTEMIC ASSOCIATIONS

Introduction: Floppy eyelid syndrome (FES) is characterized by very elastic upper lids that became easily distorted and evertible with minimal lateral traction and chronic papillary conjunctivitis of the upper palpebral conjunctiva. Apart from various ocular associations, FES has been associated with various systemic diseases like obesity, hypertension, IHD and DM. The present study was thus planned to gather data regarding the prevalence of FES and its ocular and systemic associations in the local population. Materials & Methods: A prospective non- randomized cross-sectional observational study was conducted at a tertiary care center including a total of 1600 cases. All cases were screened for floppy eye lid syndrome. Detailed history, ocular and systemic examination was conducted in all FES positive patients including screening for OSA. Results: Eighty one patients (5.06%) out of 1600 screened were diagnosed to have FES. Prevalence of FES was more in males (71.6%) as compared to females (23.6%). Of the 81 patients detected to have FES, 57 were in the age group of 40-60 years. The commonest ocular involvement was superficial punctate keratopathy seen in 43.2% followed by tear film abnormalities seen in 37%. The most common systemic association as determined by Berlin questionnaire was OSA (74.1%). Conclusion: Prevalence of FES in our study was 5.1%. The commonest ocular association was superficial punctate keratopathy. Commonest systemic association was obstructive sleep apnoea. We thus recommend that screening for OSA should be undertaken in all patients of FES.