Natadisastra G, Wittpenn J R, West K P, Sommer A
Arch Ophthalmol. 1987 Sep;105(9):1224-8. doi: 10.1001/archopht.1987.01060090082033.
Vitamin A (retinol) deficiency causes blindness, increased morbidity, and mortality among preschool children in many developing nations. Previous studies suggest that impression cytology may represent the first simple, reliable test to detect mild xerophthalmia in young children. We used impression cytology to evaluate and follow up 75 Indonesian preschool children with mild xerophthalmia and an equal number of age-matched, clinically normal neighborhood controls. Results of impression cytology, which were closely correlated with baseline serum vitamin A levels, documented histologic improvement following treatment with vitamin A. Furthermore, results of impression cytology, where abnormal, improved to normal following vitamin A treatment in a significant percentage (23%) of otherwise clinically normal children. Impression cytology appears to detect clinical and physiologically significant preclinical vitamin A deficiency.
维生素A（视黄醇）缺乏在许多发展中国家导致学龄前儿童失明、发病率和死亡率上升。先前的研究表明，印迹细胞学可能是检测幼儿轻度干眼病的首个简单、可靠的检测方法。我们使用印迹细胞学对75名患有轻度干眼病的印度尼西亚学龄前儿童以及同等数量年龄匹配、临床正常的邻里对照儿童进行评估和随访。印迹细胞学结果与基线血清维生素A水平密切相关，记录了维生素A治疗后的组织学改善。此外，在相当比例（23%）原本临床正常的儿童中，印迹细胞学异常结果在维生素A治疗后改善为正常。印迹细胞学似乎能检测出具有临床和生理意义的临床前维生素A缺乏症。
