Decreased Basal Tear Production Associated with General Anesthesia

ABSTRACT

Two types of tear secretion, basic and reflex, have been postulated. Basic secretion is thought to be a constant,slow secretion by the accessory lacrimal glands. Reflex secretion was defined as an increased rate of secretion caused by neural stimulation and thought to be secreted by the main lacrimal gland. The purpose of the present study is to measure the effect of general anesthesia and atropine on basal tear secretion in order to elucidate the association between basal tear secretion and autonomic nervous system. We studied the 84 cases of general operations that were performed between March 1998 and June 1998. Basal tear measurements were made before premedication, 5 minutes after injection of atropine, 10 minutes after general anesthesia and 1 hour after general anesthesia. Basal tear secretion was lower at 5 minutes after injection of atropine than before premedication and markedly decreased after induction of general anesthesia. Therefore, we think that basal tear secretion is closely related to the autonomic nervous system.