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Published on: September 20, 2018
Incidence and clinical characteristics of paediatric keratitis
Laurel B Tanke1, Eric J Kim2, Samantha D Butterfield1
1College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
Insights
Paediatric keratitis affects approximately 1 in 1282 children, with incidence increasing over a decade. Contact lens wear is a major cause, impacting vision in 1 in 12 patients.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Epidemiology
- Public Health
Background:
- Paediatric keratitis is an ocular condition requiring epidemiological assessment.
- Understanding its incidence and clinical features in children is crucial for public health.
- Previous studies have not fully elucidated the long-term trends in paediatric keratitis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the incidence and clinical characteristics of paediatric keratitis.
- To analyze demographic data and visual acuity outcomes over a 10-year period.
- To identify common causes of keratitis in children.
Main Methods:
- A retrospective, population-based study was conducted.
- Data were collected from residents under 19 years old diagnosed with keratitis between 2000 and 2009.
- Annual incidence rates, demographics, and visual acuity were calculated.
Main Results:
- The incidence of paediatric keratitis was 78.0 per 100,000 children, increasing significantly over the study period.
- Contact lens wear accounted for 45.6% of cases; infectious keratitis was 24.5%.
- Reduced visual acuity (≤20/40) was noted in 21.4% initially and 8.4% finally.
Conclusions:
- Paediatric keratitis affects approximately 1 in 1300 children by age 19.
- Contact lens wear is a leading cause, and vision impairment occurs in about 1 in 12 affected children.
- The study highlights the rising incidence and visual consequences of paediatric keratitis.
Background/Aims:
To report the incidence and clinical characteristics of paediatric keratitis diagnosed over a 10-year period in a well-defined population.
Design:
Retrospective, population-based study.
Methods:
Setting: multicentre.
Population:
patients (<19 years) diagnosed with keratitis as residents of Olmsted County from 1 January 2000, through 31 December 2009.
Main Outcome Measures:
calculated annual age-specific and gender-specific incidence rates, demographic information and initial and final visual acuity.
Results:
A total of 294 diagnoses of keratitis occurred in 285 children during the 10-year period, yielding an incidence of 78.0 per 100 000 younger than 19 years (95% CI 69.0 to 87.1) or approximately 1 in 1282 children. The incidence increased throughout the 10-year study period (p<0.001). The mean age at diagnosis was 15.3 years (range, 0.2-18.9) and 172 (60.4%) were women. The observed forms included keratitis due to contact lens wear in 134 (45.6%), infectious keratitis in 72 (24.5%), keratitis not otherwise specified in 65 (22.1%) and keratitis sicca in 23 (7.8%). The visual acuity was reduced to ≤20/40 in 61 (21.4) of the 285 patients at the initial examination and in 24 (8.4%) at the final examination. Children with infectious keratitis had the poorest presenting vision and the best final vision, whereas the reverse was true for those with keratitis sicca.
Conclusions:
Keratitis, regardless of aetiology, was observed in approximately 1 in 1300 children by 19 years of age in this population-based cohort. Nearly half were related to contact lens wear and a decrease in vision to ≤ 20/40 occurred in 1 in 12 patients.
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