Abstract
Purpose: :
To describe the morphological pattern and the dynamic distribution of the tear film and the tear meniscus after application of different artificial tears by using a spectral domain anterior segment optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT).
Methods: :
We retrospectively analysed the clinical data of 40 patients which underwent tear film examination by using the McMonnies questionnaire, a slit-lamp and a SD-OCT. In particular, reflectivity, metric parameters and morphological patterns of tear meniscus and tear film were evaluated by SD-OCT. All ocular surface images were obtained before and after the instillation of three different types of artificial tears at 1, 5, 10 and 20 minutes in one eye: the contralateral eye was used as control. All examinations were conducted in similar conditions of temperature, brightness, humidity and time of the day.
Results: :
A good association was found between the type of artificial tear instilled in the eye and both the morphological pattern and the degree of reflectivity. The dynamic distribution was different for the three types of eye drops. However, the tear film turnover evaluated by SD-OCT was strongly related to symptoms of patients.
Conclusions: :
Spectral domain anterior segment optical coherence tomography can be considered a useful instrument to evaluate and understand the effects of artificial tears on ocular surface.
Keywords: anterior segment • cornea: tears/tear film/dry eye • imaging/image analysis: clinical