Abstract
Purpose :
To evaluate the associations between meibum secretion quality score, age and treatment response in patients with meibomian gland dysfunction
Methods :
This prospective study included 155 patients with meibomian gland dysfunction. Patients were randomly treated with either oral doxycycline 200mg daily for 4 weeks or topical azithromycin twice daily for 2 days then once daily unit 4 weeks. Meibum secretion quality before and 4 weeks after treatment were graded as 0 clear, 1 cloudy, 2 cloudy with debris, 3 solid paste or no expression. The treatment response was defined as decreasing in meibum secretion quality score. Regression analysis was used to determine the association between age, meibum secretion quality score and treatment response. The treatment response between two medications was compared by chi-square test.
Results :
The mean age of patients was 65.85 years (range 19-90 years). Meibum secretion quality score before treatment was significantly associated with age (P=0.02). Fifty-two of 76 (68.42%) patients treated with doxycycline and 50 of 79 (63.29%) patients treated with azithromycin showed improvement in meibum secretion quality score at 4 weeks after treatment (P=0.50). There was no association between meibum secretion quality score after treatment with age (P=0.85) and the treatment response with age (P=0.88) controlled by meibum quality score before treatment and medication. (Clinical trial registry number: TCTR20140524001)
Conclusions :
Meibum secretion quality in patients with meibomian gland dysfunction correlated with patient’s age. However, the treatment response and post-treatment meibum secretion quality were not associated with age.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.