Ocular complications of atopic dermatitis in children and adolescents

Introduction: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a prevalent inflammatory skin disease, often starts in childhood and tends to flare up periodically. Patients with AD may be at higher risk of several ocular complications. Aim: To evaluate the relationship of frequency, type, and severity of ophthalmic complications in children and adolescents with AD. Material and methods: This study included 64 patients between ages 0 and 18 who were diagnosed with AD between January 1, 2020 and June 30, 2020. Hanifin and Rajka criteria were used for diagnosis of AD, and the SCORAD score was used to assess severity. Data were statistically analyzed using IBM SPSS 22. Results: A total of 64 patients diagnosed with AD with a mean age of 40.4 (4-198) months were included in the study. Periocular AD findings were detected in 12 (21%) cases and ocular findings in 15 (23%) cases. AD lesions were observed in the facial region of 35 patients. The mean age of the patients was 99.6 (52-192) months in the group with ocular findings and 22.2 (4-198) months in the group without ocular findings; there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups (p < 0.001). While ophthalmic involvement correlated with periocular involvement (r = 0.585, p < 0.001) and facial involvement (r = 0.281, p = 0.024), there was no correlation between SCORAD and ocular involvement (r(pb) = 0.129, p = 0.31). Conclusions: It was observed that the risk of eye involvement was increased in girls, older children, and in cases with facial and periorbital involvement. This study demonstrated that severe ophthalmic complications are rare in children with mild AD, but the risk of ocular involvement increases with age and in those with facial and periocular involvement.