Abstract
Purpose :
To report the prevalence of Ocular Surface Dysfunction in Patients Presenting for Refractive Surgery Evaluation in The United Arab Emirates.
Methods :
Consecutive patients presenting for refractive surgery evaluation were included. Patient information including demographics and current eye drop use were collected. The Dry Eye Questionnaire 5 (DEQ-5) was administered. Slit-lamp findings, Oxford grading of the corneal and conjunctival staining, tear-break-up time (TBUT), Schirmer test, and tear matrix metalloproteinase-9 ( InflammaDry) positivity were recorded.
Results :
38 Emirati patients were included. The mean age was 26±8 years (range 17-45) and 22 (57.9%) were female. Ten (27%) patients were using artificial tears, none used other eye drops such as cyclosporine. The mean DEQ-5 score was 5.05±3.90, with 14 (36.8%) scoring more than 6. 13 (36.1%) right and 18 (50%) left eyes had a score>0 on the Oxford scale. There were no other pathologic findings on slit-lamp examination. Mean TBUT was 4.2±3.4 for the right and 4.1±3.3sec for the left eyes, and mean Schirmer score was 17.5±5.4 and 17.7±5.6mm for the right and left eyes, respectively. 11 (29.7%) right and left eyes tested positive for MMP-9.
Conclusions :
Subjective and objective findings of ocular surface dysfunction were common among Emirati patients presenting for refractive surgery. Screening for dry eye in this population is important as it may impact the outcome of refractive surgery.
This abstract was presented at the 2022 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Denver, CO, May 1-4, 2022, and virtually.