Oral erythromycin treatment for childhood blepharokeratitis

Blepharokeratitis is a chronic external ocular and adnexal inflammatory condition marked by erythematous and edematous lid margins, lid margin crusting and scaling, meibomian gland inflammation and inspissation, and conjunctival hyperemia. The associated keratitis usually involves the inferior cornea and is characterized by punctate epithelial keratopathy and marginal stromal infiltrates. The inflammation sometimes leads to corneal thinning, scarring, and vascularization. The standard therapy for adult blepharokeratitis includes lid hygiene, topical cortico-steroid preparations, and topical antibiotics. Oral tetracycline and its analogues, doxycycline and minocycline, are used in adults to treat associated meibomian gland dysfunction. Whereas blepharitis is common in children, blepharokeratitis is rare and is often associated with severe ocular and psychosocial morbidity. Treatment of youths may be problematic because of poor compliance with lid hygiene and therapy that includes drops and ointment.(1) Furthermore, the use of tetracycline and its analogues is contraindicated in children aged less than 8 years because it may cause dental enamel abnormalities. Isolated case reports have suggested that erythromycin may be a reasonable alternative to tetracycline in childhood blepharokeratitis.(2,3) We report on the successful treatment of this condition with oral erythromycin in 5 children.