Poor ocular surface health found in children with VKC
Poor ocular surface health in children with newly diagnosed vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) is common, with disease severity leading to worse forms of dry eye disease, according to a study.
This study analyzed data from 68 children with newly diagnosed VKC not currently being treated and 33 age-matched controls with no ocular comorbidities.
Between the groups, there were statistically significant differences in mean OSDI score, lipid layer thickness, and noninvasive tear film break-up time.
Mean tear meniscus height was 0.22 ± 0.06 mm and 0.24 ± 0.04 mm in the VKC and the control group, respectively (P = 0.096).
A significant association between grade of squamous metaplasia and severity of VKC was noted, and severity was positively correlated with OSDI score, grade of squamous metaplasia, and negatively correlated with noninvasive tear film break-up time and lipid layer thickness.
Reference
Sabu S, Gupta N, Raj N, et al. Ocular surface characteristics in pediatric vernal keratoconjunctivitis: a clinico-cytological study. J AAPOS. 2022;S1091-8531(22)00430-X. doi: 10.1016/j.jaapos.2022.05.015. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36122877.