Dry eye symptoms improve over time

Dry eye syndrome symptoms improved with treatment over the course of a long-term study, but no patient was completely cured, according to a recent report.

Jutta Horwath-Winter, MD, and colleagues at the University Hospital in Graz, Austria, followed 97 patients diagnosed with clinical dry eye syndrome for up to 8 years. The 78 women and 19 men presented with typical dry eye symptoms and a tear film breakup time of less than 10 seconds. Further evaluations confirmed aqueous tear deficiency in nine patients, meibomian gland dysfunction in 32 patients and a combination of the two in 30 patients. Aqueous tear deficiency associated with Sjögren syndrome was seen in 12 patients, and aqueous tear deficiency and meibomian gland dysfunction associated with Sjögren syndrome in 14 patients. Follow-up ranged from 12 to 94 months.

At baseline, tear film function and ocular surface test results found more pathologic abnormalities and more severe subjective symptoms in patients with aqueous tear deficiency associated with Sjögren syndrome and patients with aqueous tear deficiency and meibomian gland dysfunction association with Sjögren syndrome compared to the other groups of patients with dry eye. No differences among the groups in tear substitute application were observed at baseline.

At follow-up, tear breakup time, Schirmer testing and fluorescein staining improved compared to baseline, although rose bengal staining and impression cytology did not. Subjective symptoms and frequency of artificial tear application were reduced from baseline.

The study is published in the October issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.