Posters

Tear osmolarity prevalence in general NHS ophthalmic clinics and relation to clinical examination of dry eye

Poster Details

First Author: K.Wong UK

Co Author(s):    N. Din   E. Ansari   G. Smith   A. Gupta   F. Harman  

Abstract Details

Purpose:

A multicenter prevalence study to determine tear fluid osmolarity in a general patient population attending National Health Service (NHS) eye clinics. The correlation between osmolarity readings and clinical assessment of dry eye was assessed.

Setting:

Four district general hospitals in England, UK.

Methods:

One thousand consecutive patients attending routine NHS ophthalmic appointments were recruited prospectively from four district general hospitals. Exclusion criteria were age under 18 years and usage of any eye drops two hours prior to osmolarity testing. Osmolarity testing was carried out using TearLab osmometer in both eyes. Masked clinical assessment of dry eye was performed. Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) score, presence and severity of blepharitis, tear break-up time, and corneal/conjunctival staining (Oxford grading) were assessed. Pearson correlation analyses were performed to determine the relationship between physician's examination score and tear osmolarity reading.

Results:

A total of 42% of the population had raised tear osmolarity and there was good correlation between physician's examination score and tear osmolarity reading

Conclusions:

Tear osmolarity tearing can be an useful, effective adjunct for assessment of dry eye and a helpful tool to aid treatment decisions. FINANCIAL INTEREST: NONE