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Conjunctival folds may be predictive of dry eye symptoms in contact lens wearers
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While contact lens wearers with dryness symptoms can experience significant increases in lid wiper epitheliopathy and lid parallel conjunctival folds, they do not appear to exhibit more corneal staining, bulbar hyperemia or decreased pre-lens tear break-up times, a study found.
In addition, the severity of these lid parallel conjunctival folds may be a predictive measure of dry eye symptoms.
Heiko Pult, MSc, FAAO, and colleagues assessed pre-lens tear break-up time, limbal and bulbar hyperemia, corneal staining, lid wiper epitheliopathy and lid parallel conjunctival folds in the right eyes of 61 experienced contact lens wearers.
Using the Contact Lens Dry Eye Questionnaire, the investigators identified 23 participants with dry eye symptoms and 38 who were asymptomatic for the disorder.
While the investigators identified no significant differences between groups for pre-lens tear break-up time, corneal staining or hyperemia, lid wiper epitheliopathy and lid parallel conjunctival folds were significantly more severe in symptomatic patients (P < .03).
Lid wiper epitheliopathy was positively correlated with lid parallel conjunctival fold severity and hyperemia, the authors noted.
"[Lid parallel conjunctival folds] sum severity scores appear to be most predictive for [dry eye] symptoms," the study authors said in the October issue of Optometry and Vision Science.