Purpose: To examine the retention rates and efficacy of silicone punctal plugs for the treatment of dry eye disease (DED) in patients with ocular graft-versus-host-disease (oGVHD) in comparison to dry eye disease due to non-oGVHD etiologies.Methods: We reviewed the case-records of 864 consecutive patients with DED who were symptomatic despite topical therapy and had silicone punctal plugs placed over an eight-year- period at a single academic center. We compared plug retention rates in oGVHD and non-oGVHD DED patients using Kaplan-Meier analyses. Furthermore, we analyzed changes in objective ocular surface parameters including tear breakup time (TBUT), Schirmer's test, and corneal fiuorescein staining (CFS) score in plug-retaining patients at two-, six- and twelve-month follow-up.Results: Median age of dry eye patients was 58 years, and 606 (70%) of patients were women. In the cohort, 264 (31%) patients were diagnosed with oGVHD. Plug retention was significantly lower in oGVHD-DED patients compared to non-oGVHD-DED patients (p < 0.0001). We observed significant improvement in CFS scores in plug retaining-oGVHD and non-oGVHD DED patients at all time points. Tear break-up time was significantly prolonged at six- and twelve-months follow-up in non-oGVHD patients, whereas significant change in TBUT in oGVHD patients was recorded only at twelve months post plug placement. Schirmer's score improved significantly in plug retaining-non-oGVHD DED patients at sixand twelve-months follow-up, however no significant change was observed in Schirmer's score in oGVHD DED patients.Conclusions: An improvement in ocular surface disease parameters was observed in both plug-retaining oGVHD and non-oGVHD DED patients. However, a majority of oGVHD DED patients spontaneously lost their punctal plugs within 90 days of placement. Therefore, regular follow-up after plug placement is recommended to detect plug loss and ensure adequate disease control.
Singh, R.b., Yung, A., Coco, G., Sinha, S., Dohlman, T.h., Yin, J., et al. (2020). Efficacy and retention of silicone punctal plugs for treatment of dry eye in patients with and without ocular graft-versus-host-disease. THE OCULAR SURFACE, 18(4), 731-735 [10.1016/j.jtos.2020.07.018].
Efficacy and retention of silicone punctal plugs for treatment of dry eye in patients with and without ocular graft-versus-host-disease
Coco, Giulia;
2020-10-01
Abstract
Purpose: To examine the retention rates and efficacy of silicone punctal plugs for the treatment of dry eye disease (DED) in patients with ocular graft-versus-host-disease (oGVHD) in comparison to dry eye disease due to non-oGVHD etiologies.Methods: We reviewed the case-records of 864 consecutive patients with DED who were symptomatic despite topical therapy and had silicone punctal plugs placed over an eight-year- period at a single academic center. We compared plug retention rates in oGVHD and non-oGVHD DED patients using Kaplan-Meier analyses. Furthermore, we analyzed changes in objective ocular surface parameters including tear breakup time (TBUT), Schirmer's test, and corneal fiuorescein staining (CFS) score in plug-retaining patients at two-, six- and twelve-month follow-up.Results: Median age of dry eye patients was 58 years, and 606 (70%) of patients were women. In the cohort, 264 (31%) patients were diagnosed with oGVHD. Plug retention was significantly lower in oGVHD-DED patients compared to non-oGVHD-DED patients (p < 0.0001). We observed significant improvement in CFS scores in plug retaining-oGVHD and non-oGVHD DED patients at all time points. Tear break-up time was significantly prolonged at six- and twelve-months follow-up in non-oGVHD patients, whereas significant change in TBUT in oGVHD patients was recorded only at twelve months post plug placement. Schirmer's score improved significantly in plug retaining-non-oGVHD DED patients at sixand twelve-months follow-up, however no significant change was observed in Schirmer's score in oGVHD DED patients.Conclusions: An improvement in ocular surface disease parameters was observed in both plug-retaining oGVHD and non-oGVHD DED patients. However, a majority of oGVHD DED patients spontaneously lost their punctal plugs within 90 days of placement. Therefore, regular follow-up after plug placement is recommended to detect plug loss and ensure adequate disease control.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
