title: Keratonconjunctivitis sicca is not uncommon in children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.
abstract: Keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS), characterised by aqueous tear deficiency, is the most common ocular complication in adult rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA), however, it remains under-reported. For this prospective study, 50 children with JRA were examined clinically and underwent tests for KCS (Schirmer's I and rose bengal tests, fluorescein staining, and tear film breakup time). Six children (12%) with two or more abnormal tests were diagnosed as having definite KCS, while one child with only one abnormal test was labelled with probable KCS. Five of the six (83.3%) with definite KCS were males, and three (50%) had a pauciarticular form of the disease. Two children (33.3%) with definite KCS had no ocular symptoms, five were receiving only nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and one was additionally on methotrexate. Keratoconjunctivitis sicca appears to be a common ocular complication and all children with JRA should be screened for it with a comprehensive battery of tests.
authors: Department of Pediatrics, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
authors: V
authors: V
authors: Jain
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Singh
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Sharma
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D001171:Arthritis, Juvenile / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D007638:Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D017678:Sex Distribution