Daytime variations of tear osmolarity measurement in dry eye patients Kuru göz hastalari{dotless}nda gözyaşi{dotless} osmolarite ölçümünün gün İçi deǧişiklikleri

Abstract

Purpose: We have targeted primarily to show the variations of tear osmolarity during the daytime period in subjects with dry eyes and non-dry eyes and, secondarily, to evaluate the relationship of these variations with Schirmer-s test and break-up time (BUT). Material and Method: Twenty newly diagnosed dry eye patients and 20 healthy voluntary subjects with similar age and gender were included in this prospective study. In addition to the full ophthalmic examination, Schirmer-s test and BUT test were applied to all participants. Tear osmolarity measurements were done after pre-examination but in different day. The measurements were registered with TearLab Osmolarity System (TearLab Corporation, San Diego, CA, USA) every 3 hours within 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM. The results were evaluated statistically. Results: No statistically significant difference was found between the mean age and gender of dry eye syndrome (DES) and control groups (p>0.05). The mean measurements of Schirmer-s test and BUT in the DES group were statistically significantly lower than those in the control group (p=0.0001). The mean measurements of tear osmolarity at 8:00 AM, 11:00 AM, 2:00 PM, and 5:00 PM in the DES group were statistically significantly higher than those in the control group (p=0.001, p=0.0001). No statistically significant difference in tear osmolarity at 8:00 AM, 11: 00 AM, 2:00 PM, and 5:00 PM was found between the groups, and within DES and control groups (p>0.05). Discussion: We did not determine significant change in daytime variations of the tear osmolarity in dry eye patients and healthy subjects. As a secondary result, we can conclude that there is no difference among tear osmolarity, Shirmer-s and BUT tests in the diagnosis of DES.