Abstract
Purpose :
Ocular pain is an important symptom of dry eye disease (DED) which can substantially affect patients' quality of life. The purpose of this study is to evaluate severity and frequency of ocular pain in patients with DED and investigate their associations with other clinical parameters.
Methods :
This cross-sectional study included 62 patients with DED. Using a questionnaire, they were asked to quantify the frequency and severity of their ocular pain using a 10-point scale with 10 indicating the most severe or most frequent pain, respectively. Patients also underwent a comprehensive ocular surface evaluation, including Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) questionnaire, tear break up time (TBUT), corneal fluorescein staining, conjunctival lissamine green staining, and Schirmer test with anesthesia. The associations between severity and frequency of ocular pain with other clinical parameters were also investigated by regression analysis.
Results :
There were 44 women and 18 men, with a mean age of 60.8 ±13.8 years (range, 27-87 years). The mean OSDI score was 53.4 ± 19.7. The mean values were 2.6 ± 2.7 for pain severity and 2.8 ± 3.3 for pain frequency. Regarding severity, mild pain (scores 1-4) was reported in 24 patients (38.7%), moderate pain (scores 5-7) in 8 (12.9%), and severe pain (scores 8-10) in 6 (9.7%). 24 (38.7%) did not report any ocular pain. Pain frequency was reported as infrequent (scores 1-4) in 21 (33.9%), moderately frequent (scores 5-7) in 8 (12.9%), and very frequent (scores 8-10) in 9 (14.5%). Severity and frequency of ocular pain demonstrated significant, but weak, correlations with the OSDI score (P = 0.04, rs=0.26, for both). Regression analysis showed a significant association between pain severity and Schirmer score (P=0.001, β=0.28). There were no significant associations between severity or frequency of ocular pain and age, sex, ethnicity, history of depression or anxiety, or clinical signs of DED.
Conclusions :
Most patients with DED report experiencing ocular pain, which was mild and infrequent in majority. Ocular pain had only a weak correlation with OSDI and no significant association with other clinical parameters including signs of DED. In addition to routine questionnaires and clinical tests, a detailed evaluation of ocular pain symptoms is important in patients with DED.
This abstract was presented at the 2022 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Denver, CO, May 1-4, 2022, and virtually.