Classifying signs and symptoms of dry eye disease according to underlying mechanism via the Delphi method: the DIDACTIC study

2019 ◽  
Vol 103 (10) ◽  
pp. 1475-1480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Labetoulle ◽  
Tristan Bourcier ◽  
Serge Doan

Background/aimsDry eye disease (DED) is categorised by pathophysiology as aqueous deficient dry eye (ADDE), evaporative dry eye (EDE) or mixed. Treatment should be tailored to DED pathophysiology, but this is challenging to determine. This Delphi consultation aimed to categorise and weight signs and symptoms to help identify the evaporative or aqueous deficient DED origin.MethodsA panel of French DED experts created an initial list of 77 DED signs and symptoms. In a Delphi consultation, experts categorised items by DED pathophysiology. Likert scoring was used to indicate whether items were strongly or moderately indicative of ADDE or EDE. Items could also be judged non-applicable to DED, with the opportunity to suggest alternative diagnoses.ResultsExperts attributed 19 items (of which 11 were strongly indicative) to a pathophysiology of EDE and 12 items (of which four were strongly indicative) to ADDE. Items scored strongly indicative with agreement >90% for EDE were previous chalazia, rosacea/rhinophyma, telangiectasias of eyelid margin and thick non-expressible meibomian gland secretions, and for ADDE were Sjögren syndrome or associated disease, and Schirmer <5 mm after 5 min (without anaesthesia). Seventeen items indicated neither pathophysiology and 18 items were found to be suggestive of alternative diagnoses.ConclusionsThis Delphi consultation categorised signs and symptoms, using an innovative weighting system to identify DED pathophysiology. An algorithm integrating the weighting of each sign and symptom of an individual patient would be valuable to help general ophthalmologists to classify the DED subtype and tailor treatment to DED underlying mechanism.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricaurte Ramiro Crespo-Treviño ◽  
Anna Karen Salinas-Sánchez ◽  
Francisco Amparo ◽  
Manuel Garza-Leon

AbstractMany recent studies have showed that morphological changes are one of the key signs of meibomian gland disease (MGD). These changes can be seen even before symptom onset, potentially underestimating the prevalence of MGD; however, until now, there is no conclusive information about the impact of meibomian gland (MG) morphology in tear film physiology and disease. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of anatomical and morphological MG alterations between patients with evaporative dry eye disease (DED) and healthy controls. Retrospective chart review of seventy-five patients with evaporative DED and healthy individuals who had dry eye assessments included Ocular Surface Disease Index questionnaire, meibum quality, meibum expressibility, lid margin abnormality, ocular staining, non-invasive tear film break-up time, and meibography. We did not find significant differences in MG alterations in the upper lid between healthy and DED subjects. Patients with evaporative DED presented MG alterations in the lower lid more frequently than healthy subjects (54.8 vs. 30.3%; p = 0.03). The presence of shortened glands was the only MG alteration that was more prevalent in the lower lid in dry-eye patients than in healthy subjects (p < 0.05). Subjects with evaporative DED presented more alterations in the lower lid than healthy subjects.


Author(s):  
Maria Vincent ◽  
Jose Quintero ◽  
Henry D. Perry ◽  
James M. Rynerson

Blepharitis and dry eye disease have long been viewed as two distinct diseases with overlapping presentations and separate etiologies. Evaporative dry eye, although frequently associated with aqueous deficiency, is also considered a separate entity. We propose viewing dry eye, both evaporative and insufficiency, as the natural sequelae of chronic blepharitis induced by biofilm. We suggest describing this one chronic disease as dry eye blepharitis syndrome (DEBS). The disease process begins when normal flora bacteria colonize the lid margin beginning shortly after birth. This colonization accompanies the development of a biofilm on the lid margin. As years pass, the biofilm matures, and the increased bacterial population initiates the production of inflammatory virulence factors, such as exotoxins, cytolytic toxins, and super-antigens, which persist on the lid margin for the rest of the patient’s life. These virulence factors cause early follicular inflammation and later, meibomian gland dysfunction followed by aqueous insufficiency, and finally, after many decades, loss of the dense collagen in the tarsal plate. We proposed four stages of DEBS, which correlate with the clinical manifestations of folliculitis (anterior blepharitis), meibomitis (meibomian gland dysfunction), lacrimalitis (aqueous deficiency), and lid structure damage evidenced by increased lid laxity resulting in entropion, ectropion, and floppy eyelid syndrome.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Woo Ji ◽  
Hyojin Seong ◽  
Sujung Lee ◽  
Mutlaq Hamad Alotaibi ◽  
Tae-im Kim ◽  
...  

AbstractWe aimed to determine the clinical impact of conjunctivochalasis (CCh) and its correction using high-frequency radiowave electrosurgery (HFR-ES), for signs and symptoms of dry eye disease (DED). Forty patients diagnosed with symptomatic CCh were prospectively enrolled. As a result, patients with CCh had moderate to severe DED and most of them exhibited meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD). Corneo-conjunctival fluorescein staining score (CFS) and all lid-parallel-conjunctival-folds scores (LIPCOFs) were positively correlated. Nasal LIPCOF significantly correlated with symptoms and tear volume. Central, temporal, and total LIPCOF significantly correlated with MG loss, MGD stage, and lipid layer thickness. Independent significant factors associated with total LIPCOF included CFS, tear break-up time, and MGD stage. One month following HFR-ES, CCh was completely resolved in all cases. Patient age and preoperative nasal LIPCOF were determinants of outcomes associated with postoperative improvements in symptoms. Ocular surface parameters significantly improved, but MGD-related signs did not. Collectively, CCh associated with MGD severity deteriorates not only tear film stability and reservoir capacity, leading to DED exacerbation. Therefore, CCh should be corrected in patients with DED and MGD. Younger patients with nasal CCh are likely to experience more symptomatic relief after HFR-ES. Particularly, management for MGD should be maintained after CCh correction.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (19) ◽  
pp. 1382-1386
Author(s):  
Swapneel Mathurkar ◽  
Sachin Daigavane ◽  
Madhumita Prasad ◽  
Kervi Mehta

BACKGROUND Meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) is one of the causes of evaporative dry eye disease. It is the terminal duct obstruction of the Meibomian gland and is associated with glandular secretion changes. These changes lead to decreased amount of lipids secretion which accounts for instability of tear film leading to evaporative dry eye disease. Chronic smoking also causes irritative, burning eyes along with unstable tear film. We wanted to study the corelation of chronic smoking with Meibomian gland dysfunction. METHODS This is a hospital based observational cross-sectional study that enrolled a total of 100 subjects having Meibomian gland disease (MGD), out of whom 61 were smokers and 39 were non-smokers. All enrolled subjects underwent tear film breakup time (TBUT), Schirmer I test (SIT) and slit-lamp microscope examination of lid margin abnormalities, Meibomian gland expression as well as meibum. RESULTS Our study found that the patients with Meibomian gland dysfunction with the history of chronic smoking had a remarkably decreased value of tear film break up time (TBUT), Schirmer’s 1 Test which explains the dry eye symptoms as compared to MGD patients without smoking. No significant differences were seen in lid margin irregularity and meibum secretion. Meibomitis is found in 29 smokers with MGD and 5 non-smokers with MGD which is not significant. CONCLUSIONS Chronic smoking is associated with MGD. KEY WORDS Cigarette Smoking, Meibomian Gland Dysfunction, Tear Film Tests


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. e28-e31
Author(s):  
Liem Hieu Nguyen ◽  
Edward H. Jaccoma

Background and Objectives A chalazion, also known as a stye, is a common and chronic inflammatory problem of the eyelids where one or more Meibomian glands are blocked. Previous studies have shown that a chalazion is a sign of Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (MGD) and evaporative dry eye disease. The prevalence of chalazia in the pediatric population has recently been noted. In this report, we will describe two pediatric cases of chalazion that are associated with MGD and related dry eye disease.  Methods This is a case report of non-genetically related 7-year-old and 16-year-old patients as they were each seen for newly developed chalazia. Results External exam in both patients showed chalazia, waxy plugs and poor Meibomian gland expression. Meibography showed shorten, truncated, and dilated Meibomian glands with rapid tear break-up times leading to the diagnosis of evaporative dry eye disease due to MGD. Conclusion These cases serve to confirm an increase in the prevalence of MGD in the pediatric population and to emphasize the need for early screening for dry eye disease.  Key Words: Chalazion - Meibomian gland dysfunction - Pediatric Dry Eye Disease


Biomedicines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 1424
Author(s):  
Adrian Guerrero-Moreno ◽  
Hong Liang ◽  
Nathan Moreau ◽  
Jade Luzu ◽  
Ghislaine Rabut ◽  
...  

This study aimed to compare the corneal nerve structural abnormalities detected using in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) in patients with neuropathic corneal pain (NCP) secondary to primary meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) or autoimmune dry eye (AIDE). Methods: A two-stage retrospective nested case–control study was conducted. First, data from patients with either MGD or AIDE were assessed, selecting only cases with no corneal pain (VAS = 0) or severe pain (VAS ≥ 8). Ocular signs and symptoms of the 238 selected patients were compared between painful and painless cases. Next, painful patients with no corneal damage (Oxford score ≤ 1) were selected within each study group, defining the cases with NCP (i.e., “pain without stain”). IVCM images from all groups were compared with prospectively-recruited healthy controls, focusing on dendritiform cell density and nerve abnormalities (density, tortuosity, microneuromas). Results: AIDE patients had more ocular signs/symptoms than MGD patients. Compared with healthy controls, AIDE-related NCP patients showed increased nerve tortuosity and number of neuromas, whereas MGD-related NCP patients had reduced nerve density and increased number, perimeter, and area of microneuromas. Microneuromas were also observed in healthy controls. Furthermore, a higher number of microneuromas was found in MGD-related NCP compared to AIDE-related NCP or painless MGD. Conclusions: MGD-related NCP was associated with significantly more corneal nerve abnormalities than AIDE-related NCP or healthy controls. Although IVCM can be useful to detect NCP-related corneal nerve changes in such patients, the diagnosis of dry eye disease-related NCP will require an association of several IVCM-based criteria without relying solely on the presence of microneuromas.


2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (7) ◽  
pp. 474-480
Author(s):  
Hyeck-Soo Son ◽  
Timur M. Yildirim ◽  
Ramin Khoramnia ◽  
Piyanut Poompokawat ◽  
Michael C. Knorz ◽  
...  

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