Editorial

Dear colleagues, This issue of our journal includes 6 original research articles, 1 review, and 5 case reports that we hope you will read with interest. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is the main treatment for malignant and benign hematological diseases such as thalassemia major, aplastic anemia, leukemia, and metabolic diseases such as Hurler syndrome. Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a clinical disease with multiple organ and system involvement that occurs due to donor-derived T-cells recognizing host antigens as foreign. Ocular involvement can occur as a clinical manifestation of GVHD and is known as ocular GVHD. Kızıltunç et al. retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 218 pediatric patients who underwent allogeneic HSCT and determined that 51 (23.4%) of these patients developed GVHD. Four of the patients died during follow-up. Of the 47 patients who continued follow-up, chronic ocular GVHD was detected in 63.8%, and 4 patients with a median follow-up of 12.1 months were treated with topical cyclosporine-A due to severe dry eye findings. Two patients showed significant improvement in severe dry eye findings, while treatment was discontinued in one patient due to drug side effects. The authors emphasized that chronic ocular GVHD is a common finding of post-HSCT GVHD in children; therefore, patients should be examined periodically for dry eye. (See pages 134-138)