Clinical observation on 178 children of frequent nictitation

Objective To observe the cause of frequent nictitation in children. Methods Total of 178 children aged 3-14 years with frequent nictitation from Jul.2017 to Jun.2018 were collected.All cases received detailed inquiries about medical history and lifestyle. Visual acuity, intraocular pressure, refractive status, schirmer Ⅰ test, tear film break-up time and corneal fluorescein staining test were performed. Results Video Terminal (VDT) syndrome occurred in 98 patients (55.1%). The tear fluid secretion result was lower than 10mm/5min in 3 cases(1.7%). BUT was less than 10 s in 154 cases(86.5%). There were 143 cases of normal vision (80.3%), 84 cases of hyperopia (47.2%) and 45 cases of myopia (25.2%). Corneal fluorescein staining occurred in 43 cases(24.2%), and trichiasis occurred in 20 cases(11.2%). Intraocular pressure was higher than 21 mmHg in 6 cases(3.4%)(1 mmHg=0.133 kPa). Conclusion The frequent nictitation of children are caused by many kinds of reasons. A series of eye discomfort caused by video terminal syndromeis are particularly significant in children. Dry eyes are another major cause of frequent nictitation in children. The main reason for dry eyes in children is unstable tear film, and the shortening of tear film rupture time is the most common (86.5%). Dry eye is also affected by many factors such as lifestyle, environment, eye diseases and drugs. Key words: Nictitation, frequent, children; Syndrome VDT; Asthenopia; Dry eye