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. 2019 Mar 7;19(1):67.
doi: 10.1186/s12886-019-1074-5.

Evaluation of the ocular surface characteristics and Demodex infestation in paediatric and adult blepharokeratoconjunctivitis

Mengliang Wu  1   2 , Xiaochun Wang  3 , Jing Han  1   2 , Tingting Shao  1   2 , Yan Wang  4   5
Affiliations

Evaluation of the ocular surface characteristics and Demodex infestation in paediatric and adult blepharokeratoconjunctivitis

Mengliang Wu et al. BMC Ophthalmol. .

Abstract

Background: To evaluate the ocular surface characteristics and the infestation of Demodex in Chinese paediatric and adult blepharokeratoconjunctivitis (BKC).

Methods: Fifty consecutive patients with BKC and 50 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects were enrolled. Lid margin characteristics and corneal disorders were evaluated under slit-lamp illumination. Four eyelashes were collected from each eye to examine Demodex infestation by light microscopy.

Results: Corneal neovascularization (P = 0.001) and scarring (P = 0.040) were significantly worse in children than in adults with BKC, whereas meibum quality was worse in adults (P = 0.008). Diagnosis delay was longer in children with BKC than in adults (2.2 vs 1.2 years, P = 0.022). Demodex infestation was more frequent in subjects with BKC than in healthy subjects (56% vs 26%, P = 0.002). The lid margin inflammation and meibomian gland dysfunction were worse in Demodex-positive subjects than in Demodex-negative subjects with BKC.

Conclusions: Children with BKC had severer corneal disorders compared with adult BKC patients, which may be caused by a long-delayed diagnosis. Ocular demodicosis was more common in subjects with BKC. Ocular Demodex infestation was associated with worse lid margin inflammation and meibomian gland dysfunction.

Keywords: Blepharokeratoconjunctivitis; Demodex; Meibomian gland dysfunction; Ocular surface.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This cross-sectional study was approved by the ethics committee of Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital of Fudan University (No.2015010), and written informed consent was obtained from all patients or their parent if they were under the age of sixteen.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Representative slit-lamp photographs of paediatric and adult BKC. a Lid margin hyperaemia and secretion on the eyelashes in an adult. b Corneal opacity and scarring with lid margin hyperaemia in a child
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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