Combined Use of Calf Blood-Deproteinized Extract and Eye Drops for the Treatment of Moderate to Severe Dry Eye Patients

Abstract

This research was aimed to demonstrate the clinical therapeutic effect of the joint use of calf blood-deproteinized extract (CBDE) and eye drops in therapy of moderate to severe dry eye (MSDE) patients. By analyzing the therapeutic effects of different treatment modalities, the superiority of the combined approach was examined. The main components of the calf blood protein extract were analyzed using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Ninety patients with MSDE were included. They were assigned into two groups randomly: the eye drops group (45 patients receiving eye drop treatment) and the joint therapy group (45 patients receiving the combined treatment of CBDE and eye drops). The treatment effects between the two groups were compared. It was revealed that the CBDE had a high content of glucose. The treatment effectiveness was 80.00% in the eye drops group and 95.56% in the joint therapy group. The combined treatment demonstrated a greatly higher effectiveness in MSDE versus the use of eye drops alone (P <0.05). The joint therapy group showed more pronounced improvements in tear breakup time (BUT), Schirmer I test (SIT), corneal fluorescein test (FL) scores, and symptom scores (P <0.05). Moreover, the joint therapy group exhibited a more drastic decrease in the corneal surface asymmetry index (SAI) and corneal surface regularity index (SRI) (P <0.05), as well as a greater reduction in the levels of inflammatory markers (P <0.05). The dry eye symptom scores were also markedly lower in the joint therapy group (P <0.05). These findings indicate that the combined use of CBDE and eye drops has a positive effect in therapy of MSDE patients, improving dry eye symptoms, suppressing inflammatory markers, and promoting disease recovery.