Purpose: To report the ocular hypertensive response to high-dose systemic corticosteroid in a pediatric patient.
Design: Observational case report.
Methods: A 9-year-old patient with leukemia received oral prednisolone at a dosage of 2.3 mg/kg/d for 5 weeks, followed by a 4-month break and then a 4-week course of oral dexamethasone at 10 mg/d. Detailed ocular examination was performed for both eyes before and regularly throughout the two courses of treatment.
Results: The intraocular pressure in both eyes rose to almost 40 mm Hg after only 8 days of oral corticosteroid. On stopping systemic corticosteroid, the intraocular pressure rapidly returned to baseline level within 2 days. A similar intraocular pressure profile was recorded for both eyes during the course of oral dexamethasone. The patient remained largely asymptomatic throughout.
Conclusions: Systemic corticosteroid may give rise to significant but asymptomatic ocular hypertension in pediatric patients.