Refrigeration may reduce topical cyclosporine discomfort in dry eye disease
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Key takeaways:
- Cold instillation was associated with significantly lower discomfort compared with warm instillation.
- The relief in discomfort lasted up to 9 minutes after instillation.
Cold instillation of a cyclosporine A solution reduced instillation discomfort among patients with dry eye disease, with results lasting up to 9 minutes, according to research published in Optometry and Vision Science.
“Because refrigeration could be a convenient and practical way for patients to reduce instillation discomfort, the purpose of this study aimed to develop quantitative evidence to support or refute this practice and, secondarily, to determine which clinical signs could predict discomfort relief,” William Ngo, OD, PhD, FAAO, assistant professor at University of Waterloo School of Optometry & Vision Science, and colleagues wrote.
Ngo and colleagues enrolled 40 participants with dry eye disease (mean age, 39.6 years; 82% women), who received one cold drop of Cequa (0.09% cyclosporine ophthalmic solution, Sun Ophthalmics) at 4°C in one eye and one warm drop at 23°C in the other eye. Participants were then asked to rate their discomfort on a scale of zero to 10, with zero representing no discomfort, before instillation and in the 10 minutes following.
According to results, the cold drops were associated with significantly lower cumulative discomfort compared with warm drops (P < .01), with 60% of participants reporting reduced discomfort with cold instillation, which lasted up to 9 minutes after instillation.
The researchers found no association between clinical parameters and reduced discomfort with cold instillation.
The researchers noted that lack of masking could be a limitation in the study, as participants may have had a preconception of which temperature would be more comfortable. Further research was recommended.
“This study found that cold instillation was associated with reduced instillation discomfort for a majority of participants,” Ngo and colleagues wrote. “The magnitude of discomfort relief was small but noticeable, lasting up to 9 minutes post-instillation.”
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