Oil-in-water emulsion better than hypromellose solution for dry eye patients

A topical oil-in-water emulsion reduced tear evaporation rates in patients with dry eye significantly better than a conventional treatment containing hypromellose solution, a study found.

Santosh Khanal, BSc, and colleagues compared the efficacy of a 1.25% castor oil emulsion with that of a conventional 0.32% hypromellose solution in 53 patients with mild to moderate dry eye. Patients were randomly assigned one of the solutions and instructed to apply the drops three times daily for 30 days.

At 1 month follow-up, both groups showed significant decreases in tear evaporation rates. However, tear evaporation rates were significantly lower in the emulsion group, decreasing an average of 7.25 g/m²/hr from baseline vs. a mean decrease of 2.02 g/m²/hr for patients in the hypromellose group (P < .001), according to the study authors.

Patients in the oil emulsion group also had an improvement in lipid layer structure, which was not seen in the hypromellose group. Neither group had significant changes in tear production and osmolality, the authors noted.

"This finding signifies the potential of the emulsion in the management of evaporative dry eye," they said.

The study is published in the February issue of Cornea.