Abstract
Purpose:
Intense pulsed light (IPL) therapy is a relatively new treatment for evaporative dry eye disease. Patients are generally treated with 4 IPL sessions spaced about 3-5 weeks apart. It is expected that patients will then need a single maintenance treatment every 6-12 months, although it is unknown which characteristics make it more likely for a patient to actually undergo maintenance treatment. The purpose of this study is to identify differences in baseline characteristics and outcomes in patients who require these additional treatments.
Methods:
Retrospective chart review was performed for patients who underwent at least 3 IPL treatments at the Duke Eye Center. Data was collected on baseline characteristics, examination findings, number of treatment sessions, and the ocular surface disease index (OSDI) score. Data from patients who required only standard therapy (“standard” group) versus patients who required standard therapy plus additional maintenance treatments 3-14 months after standard therapy (“maintenance” group) was analyzed.
Results:
Fifty-three patients underwent IPL therapy, including 43 patients (81%) in the standard group and 10 patients (19%) in the maintenance group. The standard group contained 31 females (72%), compared to 4 females (40%) in the maintenance group. The average age of patients in the standard group was 58.7 years (range 34-78, median 60), and the average age of patients in the maintenance group was 63.0 years (range 46-78, median 63.5). Twenty-four patients in the standard group (56%) and 7 patients in the maintenance group (70%) had underlying rosacea. Patients in the standard group had an average baseline OSDI score of 44.9 that improved to 34.4 after treatment, compared to a baseline of 43.0 among patients in the maintenance group that improved to 30.6 after standard treatment but before initiation of additional treatments. The standard group underwent an average of 4.0 treatments, while the maintenance group received an average of 5.4 IPL sessions.
Conclusions:
Characteristics that may predict the requirement of additional maintenance therapy include older age, male sex, and presence of rosacea.