Improvement of Clinical Findings, Meibography and Tear Film Parameters in Pediatric Ocular Rosacea Patients After a Standard Treatment Protocol

• Published in: Ocular immunology and inflammation p. 1
• Main Authors: Ceylan, Ali, Onal, Irem, Aydin, Fahri Onur, Mergen, Burak, Yildirim, Yusuf
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 01.11.2024
• Subjects: Blepharitis; meibomian gland dysfunction; Oxford score; ocular rosacea; pediatric
• ISSN: 1744-5078
• DOI: 10.1080/09273948.2024.2328791

The objective of this study was to illustrate the changes in ocular findings, meibography, and tear break-up time (TBUT) values in pediatric patients with ocular rosacea following a standardized treatment. The study included consecutive patients diagnosed with ocular rosacea, referred to a tertiary hospital between 2021 and 2023. Each patient underwent biomicroscopic examinations, non-invasive TBUT assessments, corneal fluorescein staining (evaluated using the Oxford scoring system), and meibography. The standard treatment protocol involved warm compresses, eyelid hygiene, preservative-free sodium hyaluronate eye drops (administered four times daily), topical azithromycin 1.5% (twice daily for 3 days), topical steroids (loteprednol 0.5%, four times daily for 2 weeks), and either doxycycline 100 mg/day for 14 days or oral suspension of azithromycin 10 mg/kg for 3 days followed by an additional three-day course of treatment administered 10 days later (for patients above and below 14 years of age, respectively). The study included 18 patients, with 10 (55.5%) being female and 8 (44.4%) being male, with a mean age of 9.7 ± 4.5 years (range: 3-18). Four patients displayed cutaneous involvement. The treatments resulted in significant improvements in the Oxford scores, reduction in corneal neovascularization, and increased TBUT (  < 0.001,  = 0.016,  < 0.001, respectively). Meibomian gland loss area also significantly improved post-treatment (27.4 ± 6.7% vs 39.2 ± 13.4%,  = 0.001). This study demonstrated that pediatric ocular rosacea patients may exhibit improved meibomian gland function, regression of corneal neovascularization, and enhanced tear film parameters following a standardized treatment protocol that includes both topical and systemic approaches.