Characteristics of Patients with Dry Eye Who Switched from Long-Acting Ophthalmic Solution to Diquafosol Ophthalmic...

Background/Objectives: Long-acting (extended) diquafosol ophthalmic solution 3% (DQSLX) is administered less frequently (three times daily) than diquafosol ophthalmic solution (DQS) (six times daily). However, some patients do not prefer DQSLX because of perceived stickiness. We investigated the subjective and objective characteristics of patients with dry eye who switched from using DQSLX to DQS. Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 51 patients (11 men and 40 women) whose eye drop prescription was changed from DQSLX to DQS between June 2024 and September 2024. Subjective symptoms, tear break-up time, and fluorescein-staining scores were evaluated from baseline to 4 weeks after DQS use. We asked the participants to choose between DQS and DQSLX 4 weeks after using DQS. Results: In total, 51 eyes of 51 patients (11 men and 40 women; mean age: 68.2 ± 14.7 years) were enrolled. The DQS group showed significant worsening of the subjective symptoms, tear break-up time, and fluorescein staining scores (20.8 ± 22.5, 5.2 ± 3.4, and 1.6 ± 2.0, respectively) relative to the baseline (15.9 ± 18.7, 6.3 ± 3.2, and 0.7 ± 1.4, respectively) (p = 0.003, p < 0.001, and <0.001, respectively). Eleven (21.6%) patients expressed their preference for continuing DQS because of the good sensation of the eye drops. An analysis of the group that preferred the DQS ophthalmic solution revealed no significant changes in subjective symptoms or fluorescein staining scores after DQS treatment. Conclusions: DQSLX improved the subjective symptoms and objective findings of patients with dry eye relative to DQS.