[Clinical- histological correlation in patients with dry eye]

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Cell Biology

Background:

• Dry eye disease often presents with a disconnect between patient symptoms and clinical signs.
• Accurate diagnosis relies on correlating various clinical tests.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the agreement between common dry eye diagnostic tests.
• To compare these tests with impression cytology for dry eye diagnosis.

Main Methods:

• A case-control study involving 40 participants (20 dry eye patients, 20 controls).
• Evaluated tests included OSDI, tear break-up time (BUT), fluorescein staining, Schirmer's test, and impression cytology.
• Statistical analysis used Student t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Spearman's Rho correlation.

Main Results:

• Significant statistical differences (P<0.0001) were found between dry eye cases and controls for all tested parameters.
• A strong correlation was observed between tear break-up time, fluorescein staining, and Schirmer's test.
• Impression cytology showed a weak association with the number of goblet cells but a stronger association with the grade of metaplasia.

Conclusions:

• Impression cytology is a valuable diagnostic tool for dry eye disease.
• While goblet cell count alone is insufficient, its assessment alongside metaplasia grade and other dry eye tests enhances diagnostic accuracy.