Instilling artificial tears before computer use may reduce dry eye symptoms after LASIK
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Key takeaways:
- Individuals who had and had not undergone LASIK experienced similar ocular symptoms after computer use.
- Instilling artificial tears before computer use prevented an increase in dry eye symptoms in the LASIK group.
Using a computer for 30 minutes significantly increased the frequency and severity of dry eye symptoms in individuals who had and had not undergone LASIK, according to a study published in Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics.
“The aim of the present investigation was to thoroughly assess and compare, for the first time, the effects of short-term computer use on the ocular surface in a group of young, post-LASIK individuals and a group of healthy controls, in order to determine whether post-LASIK patients are at an increased risk of digital display-induced dry eye,” Cristian Talens-Estarelles, PhD, MSc, OD, of the department of optics and optometry and vision science at University of Valencia in Spain, and colleagues wrote.
In a cross-sectional controlled study, researchers evaluated the dry eye symptoms and ocular surface of 18 (women, n = 9) individuals who had undergone LASIK and 18 controls (women, n = 8) aged 23 years to 35 years to assess the impact of computer use on the ocular surface of individuals after LASIK.
Talens-Estarelles and colleagues evaluated dry eye symptoms and ocular surface before and after performing a 30-minute task on a computer without (visit 1) and with (visit 2) initial instillation of artificial tears.
They assessed dry eye symptoms using the Ocular Surface Disease Index, the Computer Vision Syndrome Questionnaire (CVS-Q) and Symptom Assessment in Dry Eye questionnaire version two (SANDE II). Additionally, they assessed ocular surface and tear film variables of corneal higher order aberrations, tear meniscus height (TMH), limbal and bulbar conjunctival redness, spontaneous blinking pattern, lipid layer thickness (LLT) and noninvasive keratograph break-up time (NIKBUT).
At visit 1, both LASIK and control groups exhibited SANDE II frequency and severity scores significantly greater than zero (P .01). SANDE II and CVS-Q scores did not significantly differ between the LASIK group and controls.
However, the LASIK group exhibited a significantly greater TMH (P = .04), LLT (P = .01) and bulbar-temporal conjunctival redness (P = .01) after computer use, as well as a significantly shorter NIKBUT (P = .01), whereas the control group only showed increased LLT following computer use (P < .001).
“Based on the results of the present study, post-LASIK patients may be at greater risk of reduced tear stability and ocular surface stress following computer use than non-surgically treated individuals,” the researchers wrote. “Moreover, dry eye-like symptoms, such as discomfort, burning, dryness and red eye, among others, tend to peak in the first week/months after LASIK surgery.”
Both LASIK and control groups reported significantly lower SANDE II and CVS-Q scores at visit 2 compared with visit 1 (P .01).
Participants in both groups showed lower SANDE II and CVS-Q scores at visit 2 compared with visit 1 (P .01), with no worsening of dry eye symptoms in either group.
Lastly, individuals in the LASIK group had significantly greater TMH (P < .001) and LLT (P = .01) after computer use when artificial tears were instilled.
“Considering that computer use had a greater impact on the tear film and ocular surface in the LASIK group, the instillation of artificial tears may be especially beneficial in post-LASIK symptomatic computer users,” the researchers wrote.
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