Cumulative benefits of intense regulated pulsed light therapy for Meibomian gland dysfunction identified in a double-masked randomised controlled clinical trial

Session Details

Session Title: Ocular Pathology/Education & Training

Session Date/Time: Tuesday 17/09/2019 | 14:00-16:00

Paper Time: 15:00

Venue: Free Paper Forum: Podium 4

First Author: : J.Craig NEW ZEALAND

Co Author(s): :    A. Xue   M. Wang   S. Ormonde                       

Abstract Details

Purpose:

To evaluate long-term cumulative treatment effects of intense regulated pulsed light (IRPL) therapy for meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD).

Setting:

Ocular Surface Clinical Research Laboratory, Department of Ophthalmology, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.

Methods:

Eighty-seven participants (67% female), with MGD and aged 53±15 years were enrolled in a prospective, double-masked, parallel-group, randomised controlled trial. Participants were randomised to three treatment groups, and underwent IRPL therapy (E-Eye, E-Swin, France) with four or five homogeneously sequenced light pulses or placebo treatment bilaterally. Visual acuity, ocular surface characteristics, and tear film parameters were assessed immediately before treatment on days 0, 15, 45, 75, and one-month following the completion of the treatment course, on day 105. Markers of ocular surface inflammation and goblet cell function, and eyelid swab microbiology cultures were also compared, post-treatment, on day 105.

Results:

Symptoms scores (OSDI, SPEED, and SANDE) improved significantly, along with meibomian gland capping, tear film lipid layer grade, and Corynebacterium macginleyi growth in both treatment groups relative to control (all p<0.05). Sustained clinical improvements were observed in both treatment groups from day 75 onwards, but the five-flash group showed changes in lipid layer quality, meibomian gland capping, symptoms as early as day 45 (all p<0.05).

Conclusions:

Dry eye symptoms, tear film lipid layer thickness, and meibomian gland capping were improved in MGD patients following IRPL without the confounding effects of therapeutic gland expression. Superior clinical efficacy was demonstrated by the five-flash than four-flash IRPL application, with an initial course of four treatments demonstrating sustained cumulative therapeutic benefits.

Financial Disclosure:

research is funded, fully or partially, by a company producing, developing or supplying the product or procedure presented