Title : Ocular manifestations of children with atopic dermatitis in saudi arabia
Abstract:
Aim: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is known to cause ophthalmic abnormalities in patients, but there is no information about the incidence of these abnormalities in children with AD in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, this study examined the incidence of ocular abnormalities in children with AD in Saudi Arabia and its association with the severity of AD.
Methods: This is a cross-sectional study on 50 children with AD who were between 5 and 16 years of age. The severity of AD was evaluated using the SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) index. All the children underwent slit lamp exams, visual acuity assessment, intraocular pressure measurement, and corneal topography. The children were considered to have an ophthalmic abnormality if one or more of the following signs were present: glaucoma; keratoconus suspicion; in addition to lid, conjunctival, corneal, lenticular, or retinal abnormalities.
Result: Based on the SCORAD severity index, 14% of children had mild AD (7/50), 38% had moderate AD (19/50), and nearly half had severe AD. More than half the children exhibited facial involvement, and half had peri-orbital signs. The mean SCORAD index was 35.75. The mean age was 10.48 ± 3.6 years, and the cohort showed a slight male predominance (54% males). Both eyes of the 50 children in the cohort were studied. Based on the ocular examinations, 92% of the patients showed ocular abnormalities: lid abnormalities (27/50) followed by keratitis (22/50). Four patients had moderate risk for keratoconus in one eye and eight patients were suspected to have keratoconus. However, SCORAD severity index was not associated with age, sex, or the number or presence of ophthalmic abnormalities.
Conclusion: This is the first study in Saudi Arabia to evaluate the prevalence of ocular manifestations in children with AD. The results indicate that the majority of children with AD had ocular abnormalities that mainly included lid abnormalities. Based on these findings, larger scale studies are needed to affirm whether regular screening for ophthalmic abnormalities would be beneficial for children with AD in terms of early intervention and prevention of sight-threatening complications.
Audience Take Away:
-The audience will learn about the presence of certain ophthalmic conditions among children with atopic dermatitis
-The audience will learn about the higher incidence of ophthalmic conditions among atopic dermatitis patients
-The audience will use what they’ll learn by carefully screening atopic dermatitis children for ophthalmic manifestations
-The audience will utilize what they’ll learn by becoming more aware when examining atopic dermatitis patients as some ophthalmic conditions occur in atopic dermatitis patients
-This research can be conducted on a larger number of subjects to confirm whether regular screening for ophthalmic abnormalities would be beneficial among atopic dermatitis patients
