Ocular abnormalities in atopic dermatitis in Indian patients.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common skin disease. Long-standing, severe AD with repeated scratching and rubbing of the face, which requires continuous dermatologic care, predisposes the patient to various ocular complications. The knowledge of the frequency and significance of these ocular complications may allow their early diagnosis and treatment. The present study assesses the ocular complications in Indian children suffering from AD.

METHODS: In order to study the ocular complications in AD, 100 patients (61 male and 39 female) between the ages of 1 and 14 years were recruited. All the patients had complete dilated fundus examination with indirect ophthalmoscopy. The lid, conjunctiva and cornea were examined. Also, any evidence of cataract formation and retinal disorders were recorded.

RESULTS: The mean age of the children was 5.4 years. Forty-three (43.0%) AD patients showed ocular abnormalities in the form of lid and conjunctival changes. Of these, 18 (41.9%) patients showed only lid involvement, 16 (37.2%) only conjunctival involvement and both conjunctival and lid changes were seen in nine (20.9%) patients. Conjunctival changes were mostly in the form of a cobblestone appearance of the papillae, with mild to moderate papillary reaction and papillary hypertrophy. Variables observed to have a significant impact on the development of ocular abnormalities were age more than 5 years, duration of illness >12 months, positive family history of atopy, presence of palmar hyperlinearity and a combination of both xerosis and Dennie-Morgan fold.

CONCLUSIONS: The present study is the first of its kind from India to document an association between AD in children and various ocular manifestations. The ocular manifestations observed in our cohort were not associated with significant ocular morbidity or visual impairment possibly because of a less-severe disease in Indians.