Journal of AdvancedMedical and Dental Sciences Research

Introduction -Cataract is the leading cause of preventable blindness and the only effective treatment is to surgically remove the affected lens and replace it with an artificial lens. Most patients complain of dry eye after cataract surgery. Artificial tears are commonly used symptomatic treatment in cases of dry eye. Recently topical immunomodulator therapy is gaining acceptance in lieu of the underlying inflammatory cause. Aim The present prospective, randomized, open label, study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of cyclosporine 0.1% as add on therapy with artificial tears (carboxymethylcellulose 0.5%) in post cataract surgery patients suffering from dry eye symptoms. Material and methods A total of 58 patients were selected after application of inclusion and exclusion criteria with 31 patients in Artificial tears 0.5% group and 27 patients in Cyclosporine 0.1% + Artificial tears 0.5% group respectively. Patients were followed up to 8 weeks. Dry eye was diagnosed on the basis of Tear Film Break Up Time(TBUT) and Schirmer’s Test was used to measure the production of tear. Results-Treatment in both the groups Cyclosporine 0.1% + Artificial tears 0.5% and Artificial tears 0.5% lead to a significant improvement in the Schirmer’s test and TBUT score in the patients at 4 weeks and 8 weeks interval (p<0.0001) . On intergroup comparison, the effect on Schirmer’s test and TBUT score score were more favourably affected by combination therapy than artificial tears alone. Conclusion- Cyclosporine 0.1% + Artificial tears 0.5% and Artificial tears 0.5% topical therapy caused improvement in dry eye condition. However, combination treatment was more effective than artificial tears alone, therefore, suggesting its clinical superiority in the improvement of overall symptoms of dry eye in the patients after cataract surgery Key words- Post cataract surgery dry eye, artificial tears , cyclosporine drops , Tear Film Break Up Time(TBUT), Schirmer’s Test.