A population-based study published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology suggest approximately one in 1300 children and adolescents younger than 19 years have keratitis, with nearly half being related to contact lens wear.
The retrospective analysis included a total of 294 diagnoses of keratitis that occurred in 285 children from 2000 to 2009 living in Olmsted County, Minnesota (United States). The primary outcomes were annual age-specific and gender-specific incidence rates, demographic information, and initial and final visual acuity.
The incidence of keratitis in this paediatric population was 78.0 per 100,000 or approximately one in 1282 children. The incidence increased throughout the 10-year study period. The mean age at diagnosis was 15.3 years, and 60.4 per cent of the affected patients were female.
The most common cause of keratitis was contact lens wear, being reported in 134 cases (45.6%). Other forms included infectious keratitis (24.5%), keratitis not otherwise specified (22.1%), and keratitis sicca (7.8%).
The authors noted that children with infectious keratitis had the poorest presenting vision and the best final vision, whereas the reverse was true for those with keratitis sicca. These findings may help guide recommendations for contact lens usage in children.
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