Adherence to Eye Drops Usage in Dry Eye Patients and Reasons for Non-Compliance: A Web-Based Survey

This study aimed to investigate the actual use of eye drops for dry eye disease (DED), the reasons for instillation behavior, and the relationship between instillation behavior and subjective symptoms. This web-based cross-sectional study collected data on instillation behavior, medication instruction, reasons for instillation behavior, and subjective symptoms. In total, 2645 participants were enrolled. The proportion of participants who instilled at the frequency specified in the package insert (the specified frequency) was 10.2%. The most common reason for not instilling at the prescribed frequency was as-needed instillation to alleviate subjective symptoms, and 61.3% of participants instilled when feeling symptoms. The improvement in the subjective symptoms score was significantly greater in the group that regularly instilled at the specified frequency than the other group (p = 0.0027), and patients in the other group were younger and had a higher rate of contact lens use and over-the-counter eye drops use. In conclusion, most participants did not instill the DED eye drops at the specified frequency to alleviate symptoms. In order to obtain the appropriate effect of eye drops, ophthalmologists need to impress upon patients the importance of regular instillation at the frequency specified in the package insert, while taking into account patient characteristics.