The efficacy of autologous serum eye drops for Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca A prospective study

Abstract

Abstract: : Purpose:To evaluate the clinical efficacy of autologous serum eye drops compared to artificial tears in the treatment of keratoconjunctivitis sicca(KCS) Method:39 eyes of 20 KCS patients with a Schirmer test value < 5mm or tear film break up time <10sec with a fluorescein staining score (FS) and a Rose–Bengal score (RBS)> 3 points (max: 9 points) were enrolled in this study. All patients used preservative–free artificial tears for 2 weeks for wash out who were then assigned randomly to 2 groups. Group A (n=20 eyes) kept using preservative–free eye drops whereas Group B (n=19 eyes) used autologous serum eye drops for 3weeks. Vital staining scores and clinical symptoms were then evaluated. The change in clinical symptoms were recorded and assessed by visual analogue scales. Informed consent was obtained from all subjects . Result:After wash out, the baseline FS of groups A and B were 3.61±3.07 and 2.8±1.85 points respectively. After 3 weeks, these values changed to 3.78±3.23 and 2.05±1.28 points respectively. The FS improvement was significant in group B. (p<0.05) After wash out, the mean RBS of groups A and B were 4.17±2.73 and 4.55±2.28 points. which changed to 4.22±2.46 and 2.45±1.99 points respectively after randomization.The RBS improvement was significant in group B. (p<0.05) Visual analog scale symptom scores in patients using serum eye drops also improved significantly (p<0.05). Conclusion:Autologous serum eye drop use was associated with improvement of clinical symptom and signs in KCS. This study provided evidence that autologous serum eye drops were more effective than artificial tears for KCS treatment.

Keywords: cornea: tears/tear film/dry eye • drug toxicity/drug effects • cornea: epithelium