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Tear film can be altered for up to 1 month after recovery from acute conjunctivitis
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Patients can experience dry eye for up to 30 days after recovering from acute conjunctivitis, according to a study by researchers in China.
Ting Huang, MD, and colleagues at Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center evaluated changes in tear film in 73 eyes of 56 patients who complained of dry eye after being treated for acute conjunctivitis. Compared with healthy eyes, all eyes showed significantly abnormal scores for tear break-up time, Schirmer 1 test, tear meniscus height and fluorescein staining, according to the study.
All test scores returned to normal at 30 days post-recovery, the authors noted.
"During acute conjunctivitis, inflammation and topical therapeutic agents can alter the tear film secretion, resulting in dry eye for nearly 1 month in recovered eyes. To minimize the effect of topical agents to the tear film, individualized treatment instead of frequent instillation of topical agents is recommended for acute conjunctivitis," they said.
The study is published in the August issue of Cornea.