Abstract
Purpose: :
Ocular surface disease (OSD) is associated with diabetes. Symptoms of OSD may be masked in diabetic patients secondary to decreased corneal sensitivity. We examine the prevalence of early signs and symptoms of OSD in diabetic patients without any prior history or complaints of OSD.
Methods: :
A prospective controlled cross-sectional study was conducted. Patients with prior history or complaints of OSD, punctal plugs, ocular surgery within 3 years, or use of any topical ocular medications were excluded. Prior to a comprehensive biomicroscopic ocular exam, each patient completed the ocular surface disease index (OSDI) questionnaire (score 0-100; 0= no symptoms, 100= maximum symptoms). Corneal and conjunctival staining patterns with fixed volume (25 µL) lissamine green (LG) was noted using oxford grading scheme (grade 0-V; 0= no staining, V= maximum staining). Tear break-up time (TBUT) with fixed volume (5 µL) of preservative free fluorescein was recorded. Data was recorded as abnormal if either eye met the following criteria, OSDI >12, LG Oxford grade≥II, and TBUT <10 seconds. Fishers exact test was used to analyze the data.
Conclusions: :
In this pilot study of asymptomatic patients without prior history of OSD, diabetic patients did not have a significantly higher prevalence of subjective or objective signs of OSD. Our study does not support early screening for OSD in asymptomatic diabetic patients.
Keywords: diabetes • cornea: tears/tear film/dry eye