To observe the clinical efficacy and safety of azelastine hydrochloride eye drops combined with polyvinyl alcohol eye drops in the treatment of allergic conjunctivitis in children aged 4-6 years.

Children with allergic conjunctivitis were divided into control group and treatment group based on the medication regimen. The control group received azelastine hydrochloride eye drops,1 drop each time, tid; while the treatment group received additional polyvinyl alcohol eye drops, 1 drop each time, tid. The treatment duration was 2 weeks. The two groups were compared in terms of clinical efficacy, comprehensive ocular symptom scores, tear film stability indicators, inflammatory factor levels, tear meniscus parameters and the incidence of adverse drug reactions were eveluated.

A total of 99 children were enrolled, including 48 cases in the control group and 51 cases in the treatment group. After treatment, the total effective rates in the treatment group and control group were 92.16% (47 cases/51 cases) and 89.58% (43 cases/48 cases), respectively, with no statistically significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05). After treatment, the scores for eye itching of the treatment group and the control group were (0.65±0.56) and (0.92±0.45) points, respectively; scores for foreign body sensation were (0.35±0.56) and (0.65±0.56) points, respectively; scores for tearing were (0.35±0.52) and (0.65±0.53) points, respectively; scores for photophobia were (0.37±0.49) and (0.63±0.57) points, respectively; the levels of hyaluronic acid (HA) were (85.58±9.36) and (90.69±10.58) μg·L^-1, respectively; the levels of eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) were (6.36±0.89) and (6.82±0.95) μg·L^-1, respectively; the levels of thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) were (7.57±1.59) and (8.43±1.48) pg·mL^-1, respectively; the tear film breakup time (TBUT) were (11.49±1.37) and (10.83±1.19) s, respectively; the corneal fluorescein staining (CFS) score were (1.93±0.55) and (2.17±0.41) points, respectively; the lipid layer thickness (LLT) were (58.46±5.84) and (55.52±5.63) nm, respectively; the incomplete blink ratio (PBR) were (56.49±5.21) and (58.95±5.71)%, respectively; the meibomian gland dropout rate (MGDR) of the upper eyelids were (14.49±2.06)% and (15.36±1.88)%, respectively; MGDR of lower eyelids were (21.25±3.07)% and (22.87±2.79)%, respectively; the tear meniscus depth (TMD) were (219.64±24.56) and (208.65±23.57) μm, respectively; tear meniscus height (TMH) were (237.61±26.82) and (223.49±27.48)μm, respectively; tear meniscus area (TMA) were (58.49±8.33) and (55.07±8.11) μm², respectively. For all the above parameters, the differences between the two groups were all statistically significant (all P<0.05). The total incidence of adverse drug reactions in the treatment group and control group was 5.88% (3 cases/51 cases) and 8.33% (4 cases/48 cases), respectively, with no statistically significant difference (P>0.05).

The combination of azelastine hydrochloride eye drops and polyvinyl alcohol eye drops demonstrates good efficacy in treating allergic conjunctivitis in children aged 4-6 years, significantly improving ocular symptoms and tear film stability, reducing inflammatory markers, and without increasing adverse drug reactions.