JAMA Ophthalmology Study Highlights

A study in the Netherlands by Viera Kalinina Ayuso, M.D., of the University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands, examined the development of eye complications among children within one year of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT, a bone marrow transplant). (Online First).

The study included 49 patients who had ophthalmologic evaluations before HSCT and after. The ocular complications researchers looked at included uveitis (inflammation), hemorrhagic complications, optic disc edema and dry eye syndrome (DES). A total of 13 patients (27 percent) developed an ocular complication after HSCT. The complications included DES (n=7, 14 percent), (sub) retinal hemorrhage (n=6, 12 percent) and others, according to the study results.

"Ocular complications in pediatric HSCT patients are common, although mostly mild," the study concludes.