Prevalence of dry eye disease in an urban community

@#<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>OBJECTIVE:</strong> To determine the prevalence of dry eye disease in an urban community in the Philippines.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>METHODS:</strong> This was a community-based cross-sectional study. Convenience sampling was conducted on residents of Barangay 733, Sampaloc, Manila, Philippines. One hundred fifty-seven participants, 19 years old and above, underwent investigator-led interview using a dry-eye questionnaire, followed by dry-eye examination consisting fluorescein tear break-up time (TBUT), corneal staining with fluorescein, conjunctival and posterior lid margin staining (PLM) with lissamine green, and Schirmer I test with and without anesthesia.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>RESULTS:</strong> Of the 157 participants recruited, 148 (94%) fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The mean age was 52.35 years; 95 (64.2%) were females and 53 (35.8%) males. Thirty-four (22.9%) were diagnosed with dry eye disease, and the most common symptom reported was itching (76%). Those with dry eye had significantly higher ocular surface disease index score and subjective grading of ocular discomfort compared with those without the disease. Mean TBUT for those without dry eye was 12.74 seconds compared with 8.84 seconds for the dry eye group. The mean fluorescein corneal staining scores were 2 and 20 for the none and the dry eye groups respectively. The mean lissamine green conjunctival staining scores were 14 and 55 respectively. A positive PLM sign was present in 67.6% with dry eye vs. 5.6% in the none dry eye group. Mean Schirmer I test without anesthesia was 18.53 mm and 17.09 mm in the none and dry eye groups respectively. Mean Schirmer I test with anesthesia was 13.36 mm vs. 11.94 mm respectively.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>CONCLUSION:</strong> The prevalence rate of dry eye disease in an urban community in Manila was 22.9%. This figure was similar to those reported by neighboring Asian countries.</p>

Safety of intracameral moxifloxacin/dexamethasone fixed-dose formulation on the corneal endothelium in a rabbit model

@#<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>OBJECTIVE:</strong> To determine the safety of intracamerally injected preservative-free 0.5% moxifloxacin/0.1% dexamethasone fixed-dose combination on the corneal endothelium in a rabbit model and compare it to intracamerally injected preservative-free 0.5% moxifloxacin.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>METHODS:</strong> This experimental study included twenty eyes from ten albino rabbits. The eyes were assessed for baseline corneal clarity and anterior chamber (AC) inflammation using slit-lamp biomicroscopy. A specular microscope measured the corneal endothelial cell density (ECC) and corneal thickness (CT). Intracameral injections of 0.1 mL 0.5% moxifloxacin ophthalmic solution were administered to the 10 right eyes (IPFM group) and 0.1 mL of 0.5% moxifloxacin/0.1% dexamethasone fixed-dose preparation were administered to the 10 left eyes (IPFMDex group). In both groups, ECC, CT, corneal clarity, and AC inflammation at Day 1 (one day post-injection) and Day 7 (seven days post-injection) were compared with Day 0 (baseline). The IPFMDex group was also compared with the IPFM group at Days 0, 1, and 7. The endothelial cells of harvested corneas from both groups at Day 1 and 7 were stained with trypan blue and alizarin red, and compared for endothelial cell damage (ECD). Data were analyzed using paired and independent sample t-tests.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>RESULTS:</strong> In both the IPFM and IPFMDex groups, ECC and CT at Day 1 (IPFM: ECC p=0.07, CT p=0.76; IPFMDex: ECC p=0.41, CT p=0.94) and Day 7 (IPFM: ECC p=0.95, CT p=0.28; IPFMDex: ECC p=0.29, CT p=0.34) were not different from Day 0 (baseline). No significant difference in ECC, CT, and ECD were found between the IPFM and IPFMDex groups at Day 1 (ECC p=0.82, CT p=0.36, ECD p=0.96) and Day 7 (ECC p=0.95, CT p=0.22, ECD p=0.61). Throughout the study, the cornea in both groups were clear and showed no signs of AC inflammation.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>CONCLUSION:</strong> Intracameral injection of preservative-free moxifloxacin/dexamethasone fixed-dose formulation was safe on the rabbit corneal endothelium and was no different from preservative-free moxifloxacin.</p>