WEDNESDAY, Nov. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Ocular acne rosacea should be considered as a possible diagnosis in children with meibomian gland dysfunction and chronic blepharitis, chalazia, photophobia, ocular irritation, and redness that does not respond to treatment. Systemic antibiotics may be effective for such children, according to a report in the November issue of the American Journal of Ophthalmology.
Yonca Aydin Akova, M.D., of Baskent University in Ankara, Turkey, and a colleague reviewed the medical records of four girls aged 4 to 12 years who were diagnosed with ocular acne rosacea.
The researchers found that all four cases showed evidence of meibomitis, blepharitis, conjunctival hyperemia and punctuate epitheliopathy, with two cases showing cutaneous involvement. All four children showed considerable improvement within one month of receiving systemic doxycycline or erythromycin. Treatment continued for at least 12 months, and no recurrences or adverse effects were observed during the mean 25.5 months of follow-up.
"Long-term treatment with systemic erythromycin or doxycycline and conventional short-term measures to improve the quality of eyelid sebum appears very effective in controlling disease signs and symptoms and in preventing potentially blinding disease complications," the authors conclude. "Since this is a retrospective study with a small patient population, it should be remembered that the findings need to be interpreted with regards to generalizability."
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