Purpose:
The purpose of this study was to stimulate reflex tearing and examine its impact on tear film stability as measured by tear film break–up time (TFBUT) and tear film break–up patterns (TFBUP) in a population of Ashkenazi Jewish dry eye patients.
Methods:
Patients underwent ophthalmic evaluations including a slit–lamp biomicroscopy, visual acuity, corneal and conjunctival staining, blink rate, TFBUT, and TFBUP. After the baseline assessment, reflex tearing was induced by touching the conjunctiva with a capillary tube. Ophthalmic evaluations were repeated.
Results:
Mean TFBUT increased from 1.99 ± 1.76 to 2.62 ± 3.27 seconds after reflex tearing (p = 0.03). TFBUP distribution before and after reflex tearing are tabulated below.
The distribution of TFBUP is significantly different after reflex tearing (p<0.001). The most frequent TFBUP after reflex tearing was fractured.
Conclusions:
The data shows that the pattern by which the tear film breaks up is modifiable by reflex tearing in dry eye patients.
Keywords: cornea: tears/tear film/dry eye • cornea: clinical science • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: treatment/prevention assessment/controlled clinical trials