New possibilities for reparative therapy of dry eye syndrome

Abstract

This study evaluates the clinical efficacy of the drug Optinol Soft Recovery in the treatment of patients with DES accompanied by xerotic changes in the corneal epithelium. The study included 82 patients (15 children and 65 adults) with moderate and severe DES accompanied by the following corneal pathology: filamentous keratitis (20 patients, 33 eyes), persistent corneal erosion (28 patients, 49 eyes) and punctate keratopathy (34 patients, 68 eyes). All patients receiving fourfold instillations of the studied drug were observed already during the first 7 days to have increased stability of the tear film and decreased severity of staining of the cornea and conjunctiva with vital dyes (0.1% sodium fluorescein and 3% lissamine green, respectively). Further, as the patients were transferred to an individual instillation regimen, a progressive decrease in the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI), an increase in corneal sensitivity and tear meniscus index were also recorded. The differences in most parameters of the course of xerosis compared to the initial ones were statistically significant starting from day 10-20 of therapy, depending on the initial severity of corneal xerosis (p<0.05-0.001). Patients with moderate DES complicated by punctate keratopathy were the most susceptible to therapy with the drug Optinol Soft Recovery, while patients with filamentous keratitis secondary to a severe clinical form of DES were the least susceptible.