COMPARISON OF IMPROVEMENT IN HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS WITH VERNAL KERATOCONJUNCTIVITIS TREATED WITH BEPOTASTINE BESILATE (1.5%) AND OLOPATADINE HYDROCHLORIDE (0.1%) TOPICAL SOLUTIONS

Vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) is a chronic inflammatory condition affecting the cornea and conjunctiva of young children. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is impaired in children with VKC. Mast cell stabilizers are often offered as the first-line therapy for VKC. In this study, the effects of two types of mast stabilizers on HRQoL were compared.This was a prospective, open-label, randomized, and comparative clinical study. Patients were randomized to receive one of two mast cell stabilizers-bepotastine or olopatadine. The HRQoL was assessed using the Quality of Life in Children with Vernal Keratoconjunctivitis (QUICK) questionnaire at baseline and after 3 weeks. The change in the QUCIK score was recorded to see the impact of treatment on HRQoL. The mean age of the cohort was 9.6 ± 2 years. Most patients presented in the months of April and May. A statistically significant (p <0.1) change of over 60% in QUICK scores was observed in both groups, but there was no statistically significant difference (p 0.07) in the QUCIK questionnaire score at 3 weeks between the groups. The bepotastine and olopatadine were comparable in improving HRQoL in patients of VKC patients at 3 weeks.