Clinical Profile of Dry Eye in a Tertiary Care Hospital of Central India

Abstract

Introduction- Dry eye is a multifactorial disease of the tear film and ocular surface that results in symptoms of discomfort, visual disturbance and tears film instability with potential damage to the ocular surface. Dry eye disease is differentiated from other ocular disease and subcategorized in to aqueous deficient and evaporative dry eye disease. Dry eye disease is a frequent cause of ocular irritation that leads the patients to seek ophthalmic care. Staring at a computer monitor or digital displays for hours on end has become a part of modern workday and inevitably all of that staring can put a real strain on our eyes.

Material and Methods- This Study was conducted in the department of ophthalmology, BRLSABVM Medical College, Rajnandgaon (CG), India during study period Oct 2018 to Sep 2020. 1623 patients presenting with ocular surface symptoms over a period of 2 year were included in the study. Patients above the age of 20 year having symptoms of irritation, tearing, burning, stinging, Foreign body sensation, mild itching, photophobia, blurry vision, redness, increased frequency of blinking for one month duration were included. Patients who had suffered from corneal or conjunctival infections, contact lens users and those who had undergone extra ocular or intraocular surgery were excluded from the study. Data was compiled in MS excel and checked for its completeness and correctness. Then it was analyzed by using suitable statistical software package.

Results-In this study, 1623 patients presenting with ocular surface symptoms were taken who were administered the O.S.D.I questionnaire. The prevalence of dry eye disease in our study is 26% (422).  Dry eye was most prevalent among 20-40 yrs of age with mean age of 32 yrs. In present study the prevalence of dry eye was more in male gender than female. Occupation having regular computer use was more predisposed to develop dry eye disease. In present study the most common ocular morbidity associated with dry eye disease is Meibominitis.

Conclusion- Increasing prevalence of dry eye cases in younger age group is attributed to increased use of computer & other visual display terminal like laptops, Smartphone& tablets etc by these age groups.