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Dry eye severity correlates with degree and pattern of ocular staining
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In eyes with dry eye syndrome, the degree and pattern of lissamine green staining correlates with the severity of aqueous tear deficiency, according to a recent study.
Eduardo Uchiyama, MD, and colleagues at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center evaluated lissamine green vital staining, Schirmer test and meibomian gland dropout in 22 patients with dry eye syndrome and 11 healthy controls. The researchers sought to assess the relationship between the degree and anatomic location of the staining and the amount of aqueous tear deficiency.
The researchers found that the Schirmer test results decreased as the vital staining score increased (P < .0001). Also, the dry eye group had higher levels of meibomian gland dropout compared with controls (P < .001), according to the study.
"The presence of corneal vital staining correlates with a more severe dry eye as shown by the Schirmer test," the authors said. "The degree and pattern of vital staining correlate with the severity of dry eye."
The study is published in the July issue of Eye & Contact Lens.