Pediatric Phlyctenular Keratoconjunctivitis at a Tertiary Care Center in the United States

The aim of this study was to evaluate characteristics and outcomes of pediatric phlyctenulosis at a tertiary care center in the United States.

A retrospective cohort study of phlyctenulosis diagnosis in patients younger than 18 years was conducted. Demographics, presenting features, treatment regimens, and outcomes were analyzed.

Seventy patients (95 eyes) with phlyctenulosis were identified. Fifty-four patients (77.1%) were Hispanic, which was greater than the center's proportion of pediatric patients identifying as Hispanic (53.8%, P < 0.0001). Common comorbidities included adjacent external/lid disease (82.9%), allergic/atopic disease (18.6%), and viral infections (8.6%). Nine patients had tuberculosis testing which was negative in all cases. Five patients had vitamin A testing which revealed deficiency in 1 patient. Treatment regimens were diverse and included varying combinations of topical and systemic medications. Complications included corneal scarring (27.4%), corneal neovascularization (40.0%), amblyopia (16.8%), corneal perforation (3.2%), and severe limbal stem-cell deficiency (1.1%). 26.3% of affected eyes had final visual acuity worse than 20/40. Differences in rates of corneal complications between Hispanic and non-Hispanic patients were not statistically significant, although severe corneal complications including perforation occurred only in the Hispanic group.

This study presents a modern cohort of phlyctenulosis at a tertiary center in the United States and includes a larger proportion of Hispanic patients than expected. Phlyctenulosis carries high corneal morbidity and may frequently result in reduced visual acuity. Similar rates of corneal complications were seen in Hispanic versus non-Hispanic patients, but severe corneal complications were seen only in the Hispanic group.