A Comparative Study of Ocular Surface Disease in Childhood Glaucoma

Abdelrahman M Elhusseiny; Abid Haseeb; Taher K Eleiwa; Dina Abd Elfattah; Nashwa Sadik; Omar Solyman; Muhammad Z Chauhan; Zain Shaikh; Ibrahim Elsaadani; Ahmed S Elwehidy; Hajirah N Saeed

doi:10.1097/ICO.0000000000003684

A Comparative Study of Ocular Surface Disease in Childhood Glaucoma

Cornea. 2024 Sep 20. doi: 10.1097/ICO.0000000000003684. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Abdelrahman M Elhusseiny^{1

2}, Abid Haseeb³, Taher K Eleiwa⁴, Dina Abd Elfattah⁵, Nashwa Sadik⁵, Omar Solyman⁶, Muhammad Z Chauhan¹, Zain Shaikh², Ibrahim Elsaadani⁴, Ahmed S Elwehidy⁵, Hajirah N Saeed^{2

7

8}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Ophthalmology, Harvey and Bernice Jones Eye Institute, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR.
² Department of Ophthalmology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
³ Department of Ophthalmology, Nazareth Hospital Hospital, Philadelphia, PA.
⁴ Department of Ophthalmology, Benha University, Benha, Egypt.
⁵ Department of Ophthalmology, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt.
⁶ Department of Ophthalmology, Research Institute of Ophthalmology, Cairo, Egypt.
⁷ Department of Ophthalmology, Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL; and.
⁸ Department of Ophthalmology, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL.

PMID: 39312704
DOI: 10.1097/ICO.0000000000003684

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate ocular surface disease (OSD) in patients with childhood glaucoma (CG).

Methods: A multicenter, comparative, cross-sectional study of 41 eyes of 27 patients with CG and 42 eyes of 42 healthy age- and sex-matched controls was conducted between 2021 and 2022. Developmentally delayed children and those having a coexisting systemic illness that might affect the ocular surface were not enrolled. Data collected included glaucoma type, glaucoma medications and surgeries, anterior segment examination, symptom frequency and severity, and tear break-up time (TBUT). Dry eye disease (DED) symptoms were evaluated using an Arabic-language SPEED questionnaire.

Results: The average number of glaucoma medications and surgeries among the 27 patients with CG was 1.17 and 1.4, respectively. TBUT was shorter in patients with CG compared with controls and even shorter when glaucoma medication usage was accounted for. Punctate epithelial erosions were more prevalent in patients with CG and of a higher grade. The severity of all DED parameters, and the prevalence of all DED parameters except for eye fatigue, were greater in patients with CG on the day of questionnaire intake. In addition, each additional glaucoma drop was associated with worse TBUT and ocular surface dryness. All analyses mentioned above were statistically significant (P < 0.05).

Conclusions: In this first study to comprehensively evaluate OSD in patients with CG, a significantly greater incidence of OSD signs and symptoms was found in patients with CG compared with a healthy population. Additional study by CG subtype is needed.