Posters

Finger-prick autologous blood for the treatment of dry eye disease: patient-reported experiences of treatment

Poster Details

First Author: A.Hassan UK

Co Author(s): A. Hassan   S. Balal   S. Ahmad   Y. Papas   A. Sharma        

Abstract Details

Purpose:

DED can result in damage to the ocular surface epithelium. Serum eye drops (SED) are used in DED for their epitheliotropic properties, however cost and accessibility limit the therapeutic potential. Finger-prick autologous blood (FAB) treatment is a novel intervention for DED in which patients extract a drop of blood from their finger-tip and instil this into their eye. The aim of the present study was to gain insight into the patient experience of using FAB for DED.

Setting:

Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Methods:

After an 8-week treatment period with four times daily FAB treatment, a nested qualitative study was conducted. Patients consented to participate in a semi-structured interview with an ophthalmologist which explored patient perspectives on different domains of FAB treatment.

Results:

Patients gave FAB a mean score of 2.10 ±0.47 (95% CI) for usability on a rating scale with 1 being ‘very easy’ and 5 being ‘very difficult’. Patients identified a learning curve following FAB treatment with usability improving. Patients scored the overall beneficial effect of FAB on their quality of life (QOL) (including; DED and overall wellbeing) 3.55 ±0.49 (95% CI) on a rating scale with 1 being ‘no effect’ and 5 being ‘very significant effect’.

Conclusions:

FAB is readily accepted and recommended by patients with moderate to severe DED when used as an-add on therapy. Video supported supervised training for patients can facilitate commencing FAB. FAB is a usable treatment in the ‘real world’ but does pose specific challenges for some patients.

Financial Disclosure:

None