Comparative Study of Pediatric Dry Eye in a Tertiary Care Hospital Among Children With and Without Ocular Infection History

Purpose: To compare the prevalence and severity of dry eye disease among children aged 6 to 12 years with and without a history of ocular infections. Methods: Children aged 6 to 12 years who came to the pediatric eye clinic were included. A total of 400 children were screened for dry eye over a 6-month study period. Consecutive sampling was used, meaning all eligible children who attended the Pediatric Ophthalmology outpatient department during this period were included based on inclusion and exclusion criteria by using the the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) questionnaire, tear film break-up time (TBUT), and the Schirmer I test. Results: Dry eye disease was diagnosed in 37% (n = 148) of the participants overall, and the diagnosed children with dry eye were divided into two groups (history of ocular infection and no history of ocular infection). The history of ocular infection group showed noticeably worse results on two key tests compared to the no history of ocular infection group. Their TBUT was significantly lower at 6.3 seconds (with a margin of ±1.8 seconds), and their Schirmer I test results were also reduced at 9.2 ± 2.4 mm. The no history of ocular infection group had TBUT values of 8.9 ± 2.0 seconds and Schirmer I readings of 13.1 ± 2.7 mm. Both of these differences were statistically significant ( P < .001). Conclusions: Dry eye disease seems to be common among school-aged children, especially those who have had eye infections before. On analyzing previous infections, particularly viral and bacterial conjunctivitis, it appears that there are important factors contributing to problems such as unstable tear films and reduced tear production.