Vitamin A deficiency with corneal xerosis
Definition
Clinically, the cornea develops classical xerosis, a hazy, lustreless, dry appearance, first apparent near the inferior limbus. Many children have characteristic superficial punctate lesions of the inferior-nasal aspects of their cornea that stain brightly with fluorescein. Early in the disease they are visible only through a slit-lamp examination. With more severe disease the punctate lesions become more numerous and spread upwards over the central cornea, and the corneal stroma becomes oedematous. Thick, keratinized plaques resembling Bitot's spot may form on the corneal surface. These are often densest in the interpalpebral zone. With treatment, these corneal plaques peel off, sometimes leaving superficial erosion which quickly heals. Corneal xerosis responds within 2-5 days to vitamin A therapy, the cornea regaining its normal appearance in 1-2 weeks.
Also indexed as
Nearby in Vitamin A deficiency
5B55.0Vitamin A deficiency with night blindness5B55.1Vitamin A deficiency with conjunctival xerosis5B55.2Vitamin A deficiency with conjunctival xerosis and Bitot's spots5B55.4Vitamin A deficiency with corneal ulceration or keratomalacia5B55.5Vitamin A deficiency with xerophthalmic scars of cornea or blindness4B4YOther specified diseases of the immune system4B4ZDiseases of the immune system, unspecified