PEDIATRIC OCULAR ROSACEA: ABOUT 2 CASES

As ocular rosacea continues to be underdiagnosed in the pediatric population , this very rare condition remains a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge to avoid sight-threatening.

Speciality Hospital of Rabat , Department of Ophthalmology B

We report the case of a 11 years old child with recurrent episodes of bilateral redness of the eyes. The visual acuity was at 3/10 in both eyes and without correction. First Ophthalmic examination shows telangiectasias and meibomitis of the eyelids, with no corneal involvement .

The second case concerns a 12 years old girl, with recurrent episodes of chalazions during her childhood. General examination shows telangiectasic erythrosis of  the cheeks. The visual acuity was reduced to 8/10 in the right eye, conserved in the left eye. Ophthalmic examination shows blepharitis, meibomitis, conjunctival hyperaemia and corneal inflammation (opacity with neovascularization)  

First patient, was treated by artificial tears, local and general antibiotics. the evolution was marked  by a corneal involvement, including scarring engendering a vision loss in both eyes (4/10 OD and 7/10 OG).

For the Second patient, a corneal OCT confirmed the stromal anterior localization of the keratitis and a lacrydiag was performed, showing meibomus and meniscal tear deficiency permitting to optimize the treatment. Topical steroids, local  azithromycin and oral tetracycline allows us to reduce inflammation, and stabilize visual acuity.

Children can sometimes be the target of ocular rosacea. These clinical cases were able to illustrate the different clinical aspects of the disease; if not treated in time this pathology can have a significant psychosocial impact and be responsible for blindness.