This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Neuropathic ocular pain in dry eye patients associated with non-ocular pain, mental health status
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
NEW ORLEANS — Neuropathic ocular pain correlated with non-ocular pain and low mental health scores in patients treated for dry eye syndrome, a speaker told colleagues here.
“[Neuropathic ocular pain] symptoms may aid in identifying patients whose dry eye may indicate a broader pain syndrome. This may have repercussions on the health and well-being of patients with dry eye,” Ashley Marie Crane, MD, said at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting.
Crane and colleagues set out to study chronic pain and mental health profiles in patients with dry eye symptoms.
“Dry eye is generally classified based on its presumed etiology, whether that be aqueous deficiency or evaporative dry eye,” Crane said. “However, we know that treatment is chosen despite a lack of known correlation between the presumed etiology and the symptoms.”
Neuropathic pain is a pathological neuroplasticity of the somatosensory system and is associated with spontaneous firing of peripheral neurons and/or higher sensory neurons, Crane said.
The cross-sectional study included 181 patients with dry eye symptoms who underwent a comprehensive ocular surface examination and were given a questionnaire on dry eye symptoms, neuropathic complaints such as burning, sensitivity to wind, light and temperature, and non-ocular pain.
Medical comorbidities, medication use, mental health and patient quality of life were also evaluated.
The investigators conducted a cluster analysis of differences in ocular and non-ocular parameters between patients with high and low neuropathic ocular pain.
The high neuropathic ocular pain group included 51 patients, and the low neuropathic ocular pain group included 130 patients.
Similar ocular surface findings were observed between the high and low groups. However, more patients in the high group reported comorbid chronic centralized pain. In addition, patients in the high group had lower quality-of-life scores and more abnormal mental health scores, Crane said. – by Matt Hasson and Patricia Nale, ELS
Reference:
Crane AM. Patients with more severe symptoms of neuropathic ocular pain exhibit more frequent and severe centralized pain conditions and psychiatric disease. Presented at: American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting; May 6-10, 2016; New Orleans.
Disclosure: Crane reports no relevant financial disclosures.