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Lubricating eye drops may reduce light scattering in eyes with mild to moderate dry eye
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Lubricating eye drops improved light scattering for a minimum of 60 minutes in patients with mild to moderate dry eye disease, a study found.
“In the absence of corneal staining, our results suggest that poor visual quality in dry eye patients could be related to tear instability reflected by increased light scattering,” the study authors said. “Moreover, the use of lubricating eye drops reduced ocular scattering as a measure of optical quality for at least 60 minutes after instillation. The rate of [objective scatter index] change emerged as a sensitive indicator of tear film-related changes in the ocular light scattering produced over time.
The study included 25 eyes of 25 patients diagnosed with mild to moderate dry eye disease according to the Dry Eye Workshop definition and 10 eyes of 10 healthy, age-matched control subjects.
The ocular surface disease index was used to assess symptoms of dry eye. Tear breakup time, corneal staining and Schirmer 1 testing were also performed. Objective scatter index measurements were repeated 5, 10, 20, 30, 45 and 60 minutes after eye drop instillation.
Study results showed a significant relationship between tear breakup time, Schirmer 1 test and ocular surface disease index scores. Data showed no association between objective scatter index and corneal staining scores.
The objective scatter index was appreciably higher in the study group than in the control group. The objective scatter index change rate decreased significantly from baseline at each follow-up measurement after eye drop instillation in the study group (P < .001); this result denoted improved light scatter in response to drops, the authors said.
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