Abstract
Purpose :
The correlation between the initial velocity of the tear film lipid layer (TFLL) spread after a blink with tear volume has been reported previously (Yoko N, et al. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2008). The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the TFLL spread distance (TFLLSD) after the eye is opened and the other objective parameters associated with dry eye.
Methods :
This study involved 149 eyes, including normal healthy eyes and eyes with dry eye, of 149 subjects (20 males and 129 females; mean age: 61.9 years). In those 149 eyes, interference images of the TFLL were recorded with a video-interferometer (DR-1®; Kowa), and the TFLLSD was then evaluated as the averaged value of the maximum and the minimum distance in the DR-1® image from the lowest margin of the TFLL spread after the cessation of the upward spread of the TFLL after the eye is opened. Tear meniscus radius (TMR, mm), noninvasive breakup time (BUT) (NIBUT, seconds) of the tear film (TF), fluorescein BUT (FBUT, seconds), corneal-epithelial damage (CED) score (15 points = maximum), conjunctival epithelial damage (CjED) score (6 points = maximum), and the Schirmer 1 test (ST1, mm) were examined, and the correlation with TFLLSD was investigated.
Results: TFLLSD was significantly and positively correlated with TMR, ST1, NIBUT, and FBUT [r = 0.5045 (p<0.0001), 0.3599 (p=0.0005), 0.5183 (p<0.0001), and 0.5276 (p<0.0001), respectively] and negatively correlated with CED and CjED (r=0.4853 (p<0.0001) and 0.5203 (p<0.0001), respectively.
Results :
TFLLSD was significantly and positively correlated with TMR, ST1, NIBUT, and FBUT [r = 0.5045 (p<0.0001), 0.3599 (p=0.0005), 0.5183 (p<0.0001), and 0.5276 (p<0.0001), respectively] and negatively correlated with CED and CjED (r=0.4853 (p<0.0001) and 0.5203 (p<0.0001), respectively.
Conclusions :
The findings of this study showed that TFLLSD is significantly correlated with the quantitative and qualitative parameters for TF and the ocular surface epithelium, and suggest that TFLLSD can become a clinically useful and simple method for evaluating the severity of dry eye.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.