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Voluntary blinking and use of 0.25% dye on fluorescein dye disappearance test
Cheol Kim1, Min Joung Lee, Sang In Khwarg
1Hadong Seoul Eye Clinic, Hadong, Seoul, Korea.
Objective:
To evaluate the effect of voluntary blinking and use of diluted fluorescein dye on fluorescein dye disappearance test (FDDT) in terms of diagnostic ability and test time.
Design:
Prospective, nonrandomized case series.
Participants:
Thirty-nine patients who visited Hadong Seoul Eye Clinic between April 2009 and September 2009.
Methods:
All participants underwent FDDT and a lacrimal syringing test, and were divided into 2 groups according to the lacrimal syringing test results. FDDT was performed using 3 protocols: conventional FDDT (2% FDDT), FDDT with voluntary blinking (2% FDDTb), and FDDT with voluntary blinking using diluted fluorescein (0.25% FDDTb). The results were assessed by comparing initial tear meniscus height and those at 5 (2% FDDT) or 3 minutes (2% FDDTb, 0.25% FDDTb) after dye instillation. Results were considered "normal" when the tear meniscus decreased to less than 50% of its initial height, and "delayed" when it decreased to≥50%. In cases with a normal result, a half-period of dye disappearance was also recorded.
Results:
Regarding diagnostic ability, the 0.25% FDDTb test had highest sensitivity and specificity among 3 protocols (100% and 80%, respectively). The half-period of dye disappearance was 3.17±1.72 minutes for 2% FDDT, 1.82±0.64 minutes for 2% FDDTb, and 1.04±0.69 minutes for 0.25% FDDTb, and showed significant difference among 3 tests (P = 0.001).
Conclusions:
The FDDT with voluntary blinking using 0.25% fluorescein had comparable diagnostic ability with the conventional FDDT, and allowed the test time to be significantly reduced.
