Dry eye questionnaire may not be effective diagnostic tool for children
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
INDIANAPOLIS — Dry Eye Questionnaire-5 scores did not appear to align with ocular signs of dry eye in pediatric patients, highlighting the need for diagnostic tools tailored for children, according to a poster at Academy 2024.
“Kids are more likely not able to articulate their symptoms clearly, so that was in the back of our minds, but there wasn’t research on the actual efficacy of the DEQ-5,” Olivia Jacobs, BS, a student at Southern College of Optometry, told Healio.
Jacobs and colleagues enrolled 90 children aged 5 to 10 years (mean age, 7.8 years; 45.9% boys), who completed the Dry Eye Questionnaire (DEQ-5) with assistance from their parents before undergoing clinical measures for dry eye, including noninvasive tear film breakup time, tear meniscus height, degree of conjunctival redness and meibomian gland quantity and quality.
The researchers found no significant association between DEQ-5 scores and ocular signs of dry eye, suggesting that the survey “may not adequately capture or predict the clinical manifestations” of dry eye in children, they wrote.
Jacobs and colleagues noted, however, that boys appeared less likely than girls to report significant symptoms, a finding that corresponds with gender differences in dry eye prevalence and symptom reporting observed in adult studies.
Furthermore, the researchers found a notable association between lower lid meibomian gland tortuosity and gland atrophy, suggesting that early detection of meibomian gland changes in children may be an important factor in dry eye management.
“We have discovered that the DEQ-5 is not going to be an effective survey in the pediatric population, and that’s going to further our research to tailor surveys more effectively and specifically to the pediatric population,” Jacobs said.
Collapse
Jacobs O, et al. Evaluating the relationship between signs and symptoms of dry eye in a pediatric population. Presented at Academy 2024; Nov. 6-9, 2024; Indianapolis.
Read more about
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts