[Dry eye syndrom--multispecialistic disease. Part two: diagnostic procedure and treatment]

The authors present the review of the literature concerning on the diagnostic procedure and current treatment of the dry eye, including anti-inflammatory treatment. To diagnosis of the dry eye syndrome is based on the combination of clinical symptoms and clinical tests. These clinical tests evaluate tear clearance, tear stability, ocular surface integrity, tear osmolarity and conjunctival cytology. Measurement of tear osmolarity might provide a "gold standard" of diagnosis, but a practical tear osmolarity test is not yet widely available. Measurement of tear film instability by means of a TBUT test has good overall accuracy and may be more repeatable than many other diagnostic tests. The first step in managing the disease is to identify the underlying etiology and to try to eliminate it and/or treat it. Inflammation and the interruption of the inflammatory cascade seem to be the main focus in the treatment of dry eye, giving the anti-inflammatory therapy a new critical role.