Seasonal Variation in Acute Dacriocystitis

Abstract Objectives: Seasonal variation is possible in some medical conditions.Acute dacryocystitis is very disturbing clinical picture and can develop in any time of the year in patients with lacrimal duct obstruction. We aimed to investigate whether there is a seasonal relationship with the emergence of acute dacryocystitis.Material and Methods:The files of the patients who applied to the ophthalmology outpatient clinic with the complaints of tearing and discharge for five years and diagnosed with acute dacryocystitis were analyzed retrospectively. Age, gender, date of occurrence of the complaints and the date of diagnosis of acute dacryocystitis were recorded. In order to determine the seasonal relationship, the data regarding the number of cases who applied every month of the year were analyzed statistically by Rayleigh test.Results: The mean age of 60 patients (45 females, 15 males) included in the study was 54.70 ± 16.80 years. It was found that all patients were not equally likely to arrive at the hospital and the onset of their complaints throughout the months of the year (p <0.05). The frequency of applications was higher between May and August.Conclusion: There seems to be a seasonal relationship with the timing of the acute dacryocystitis. In our series, more acute dacryocystitis cases were encountered in the first spring-summer months. The reason for the increase of acute dacryocystitis cases in hot seasons of the year may be due to the increase in infectious agents in these seasons.