Abstract
Purpose: :
We previously reported the clinical entity of meibomitis-related keratoconjunctivitis (MRKC) which is characterized by subepithelial cellular infiltrates and superficial vascularization in the cornea associated with meibomitis caused by Propionibacterium acnes. Conversely, ocular rosacea (OR), often seen in acne rosacea, is characterized by lid-margin inflammation with frequent corneal involvement. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical similarities of MRKC and OR in childhood cases.
Methods: :
We investigated the patients’ gender, past history of chalazia, and ocular surface manifestations including the severities of meibomitis and corneal infiltrates with superficial vascularization in 36 cases of MRKC seen at Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine. These data were compared with 102 childhood cases of OR reported in the last 20 years in international peer-review journals.
Results: :
Over 80% of the patients were female in both MRKC (88%) and OR (81%). The history of chalazia is distinctive in MRKC (74%) as well as in OR (82%). MRKC and OR shared all the ocular surface manifestations including meibomitis, corneal infiltrates, and superficial corneal vascularization. For both diseases, treatment with antimicrobial agents was shown to be both beneficial and highly effective.
Conclusions: :
The findings of this study show that MRKC shares a similar clinical entity with OR. This might be a meaningful in terms of understanding the pathogenesis of ocular rosacea in childhood.
Keywords: cornea: clinical science • inflammation