J Korean Ophthalmol Soc.  2008 Dec;49(12):1923-1928.

Clinical Manifestations and Surgical Results of Steroid-Induced Cataract in Children

• Lee EJ
• Kim JH
• Kim SJ
• Yu YS

Abstract

PURPOSE: To reveal the incidence and clinical manifestations of steroid-induced cataract, and to evaluate the visual outcome after cataract surgery in children.
METHODS
We reviewed the charts of the pediatric patients who had been receiving oral prednisolone for at least one year and had visited the ophthalmologic clinic between January 1991 and December 2006, and enrolled the patients who had been diagnosed as having steroid-induced cataracts. We investigated the total dose and duration of medication and compared the visual acuity (VA) at the initial visit with that of the last follow-up. We also compared the pre- and post-operative best corrected visual acuity of the patients who had undergone cataract operation.
RESULTS
Among the 1408 patients who had been treated with systemic steroids for over one year, lens opacities were found in 92 eyes (2.5%). The total duration and dose of medication were not significantly correlated with the VA (R2<0.1). The lens opacities were found bilaterally in 88 eyes (91.7%), and unilaterally in 4 eyes (8.3%). The posterior subcapsular opacities were the most frequent (84.8%). In 81 eyes who had not undergone surgery, there was no significant change of VA (p=1). The 11 eyes who had undergone cataract surgery showed significant increases in VA (p<0.01).
CONCLUSIONS
The incidence of steroid-induced cataract in pediatric patients was 2.5%. The dose and duration of medication were not significantly correlated with the visual impairment. There was no significant change in VA during the follow-up. The surgical outcome of the cataract operation was favorable.

Keyword

Cataract; Pediatric; Steroid

MeSH Terms

Cataract
Child
Eye
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Incidence
Prednisolone
Steroids
Vision Disorders
Visual Acuity
Prednisolone
Steroids

Figure

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  Figure 1 . The age distribution of the patients.

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  Figure 2 . The associated systemic diseases. NS=nephrotic syndrom; HMO=hemato-oncologic diseases; JRA=juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, UC=ulcerative colitis.

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  Figure 3 . Comparison of preoperative and postoperative visual acuity (log MAR) of the nine eyes which underwent cataract surgery.

Reference

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