Lacrymal secretion in the non‐affected fellow eye of patients with recurrent unilateral herpetic keratitis

Abstract

AbstractPurpose To assess the potential impact of unilateral recurrent herpetic keratitis on the tear secretion of the fellow eye.Methods Patients referred for a recurrent herpetic unilateral stromal keratitis and control patients, age‐ and sex‐matched, with no history of corneal disease. .Dry eye conditions where tested in keratitis patients after a minimum quiescent period of three months. Osmolarity (using the TearLab®), tear break‐up‐time (TBUT), tear reflex (Schirmer I test), and central corneal sensitivity (using the Cochet‐Bonnet aesthesiometer) were assessed in the two eyes of patients and controls. Values were compared using non‐parametric tests, and statistical significance was defined as p<0.05 (2‐tailed).Results Thirty‐five patients (mean age: 52.3 ± 7.3 years) and 35 control subjects (mean age: 52.8 ± 8.5 years) were consecutively included in the study. We found no difference between right and left eyes of control patients. The corneal sensitivity and TBUT was strongly reduced in the affected side (4,85g/mm2 ± 2.0; 4.6sec ± 1.1 respectively) compared to the non‐affected side (0.57 g/mm2 ± 0.13 p=0.001; 7.7sec ± 1.4 p<0,001 respectively). The average tear osmolarity in non‐affected eyes was higher than the average of the highest values observed in control subjects (316.3 versus 303.8 mmol/L, p=0.0001). Similarly, the average BUT in non‐affected eyes of herpetic patients was lower than the average of the lowest values observed in control subjects (7.7 versus 12.2 sec, p=0.0001).Conclusion This study suggests that unilateral recurrent stromal herpetic keratitis induces dry eye condition in the non‐affected eye.