“Keratrop” eye drops efficacy in dry eye syndrome treatment in diabetic patients

Abstract

Significance. Prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) is increasing worldwide. People with diabetes are at higher risk to dry eye syndrome (DES). The increasing dependence of society on computers, air conditioning, and visual workload, etc. results in an increase in the manifestations of DES in diabetic patients. A significant part of the socially active population with diabetes requires prescription of drugs aimed at correcting disorders associated with both hyperglycemia and dry eyes. Conservative treatment of DES in case of diabetes includes prescription of artificial tears, metabolic, immunocorrecting, hormonal, antiallergic therapies as well as treatment of meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD). The tear substitutes, however, cannot always satisfy the needs of doctors and patients due to the imperfections of their formulas. Therefore, more and more new drugs are introduced to the market that require a comprehensive assessment.Purpose. To evaluate the clinical efficacy of Keratrop eye drops – a new artificial tear formulation – in dry eye syndrome treatment in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM).Methods. The study included 65 patients (130 eyes) with dry eye syndrome stages I and II associated with mild and moderate diabetes. These were adult patients of both sexes who had not previously received artificial tears as treatment and were undergoing either inpatient or domiciliary care. All studied patients provided a written informed consent and were divided into 2 groups by random sampling. The main group (35 patients) was receiving Keratrop instillations 2 times a day during 14 days, in the course of antidiabetic treatment. Instillations of “artificial tear” were not prescribed to patients of the control group (30 patients), and they only received antidiabetic treatment prescribed by the endocrinologist. Before and after treatment, all patients underwent standard ophthalmic examinations, meibography imaging, tear film assessment and filled in OSDI questionnaires.Results. The study showed that during treatment, in patients of the experimental group – with both I and II dry eye syndrome stages – a significant decrease in subjective and objective manifestations was observed, along with an improvement in the tear film stability. In the control group, positive dynamics was observed only in patients with the first stage of dry eye syndrome.Conclusion. Dry eye syndrome treatment in patients with diabetes should be comprehensive and must include both basic antidiabetic therapy and instillation of tear substitutes.