Abstract
Purpose :
To investigate the accuracy of strip meniscometry tube (SMTube) in dry eye screening and diagnosis in the context of a Chinese community.
Methods :
This cross-sectional random population-based study initiated on 27 September 2021 and continuing until now. Chinese subjects aged 50 and above were recruited through randomized mail invitation in the Southern district in Hong Kong. Overall, the response rate was 96%, and cooperation rate was 49%. In total, 298 consecutive subjects underwent comprehensive dry eye assessment in order from least invasive to most invasive, including dry eye questionnaire (OSDI score), Non-invasive keratographic tear breakup time, tear meniscus height, tear breakup pattern, SMTube, NEI cornea staining score. The definition of dry eye was adopted from Asia Dry eye Society. Incremental (1 mm) strip meniscometry readings were tested for accuracy of dry eye diagnosis. The right eye of each subject was used for analysis.
Results :
Among the 298 recruited individuals, mean age was 62.6 (± 7.20) years. Overall, 19.5% had dry eye disease (OSDI >/=13 and TBUT <10s). Among dry eye patients, random break was the most common tear breakup pattern, accounting for 62% of cases. Subjects with dry eye disease had significantly lower SMTube readings compared to those who did not have dry eye disease on Student’s t test. A low SMTube result had high specificity and high negative predictive value for dry eye disease, OSDI score >/=13 and presence of significant cornea staining. A cut off value of 3 mm was shown to be achieve optimum specificity and negative predictive value for dry eye disease (90.8% and 80.4%), cornea staining (94.1% and 64.8%) and OSDI score >/=13 (91.7% and 78.1%)
Conclusions :
In a community setting, where dry eye prevalence is relatively low, an abnormal SMTube reading had high specificity and negative predictive value, suggesting excellent diagnostic value for an abnormal test result. A cut off value of 3 mm was proven to have the highest diagnostic accuracy for dry eye disease.
This abstract was presented at the 2022 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Denver, CO, May 1-4, 2022, and virtually.