Dry Eye And Intravitreal Injections

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of polyethylene glycol 400/propylene glycol/hydroxypropyl guar/hyaluronic acid eye drops in preventing and treating dry eye induced by intravitreal injections of anti-VEGF.

Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Perugia, Italy

Ninety patients with age-related macular degeneration receiving first intravitreal injection were enrolled in a randomized controlled trial. Patients were assigned to polyethylene glycol 400/propylene glycol/hydroxypropyl guar/hyaluronic acid eye drops for two weeks in addition to standard therapy (treatment group) or standard therapy alone (control group). At enrollment visit (V0)  T-BUT, Schirmer's test, and fluorescein staining were taken, and DEQ5 and OSDI questionnaires were administered. After injection, at the 15 days visit (V1), the same tests and questionnaires were repeated. At a 30-day telephonic follow-up (V2), the OSDI questionnaire was administered. Study endpoints were changes in all parameters at V1 and V2 between groups.

The results of the study showed no significant differences in BUT, Schirmer's test, fluorescein staining, and OSDI scores between the treatment and control groups at V1 and V2 visits. However, the DEQ5 score exhibited a statistically significant improvement within the treatment group between V1 and V0 visits, with the mean score decreasing from 4.24 to 2.54 (p=0.0006).

The use of polyethylene glycol 400/propylene glycol/hydroxypropyl guar/hyaluronic acid eye drops as an adjunct to standard therapy was found to significantly reduce the subjective perception of dry eye syndrome in patients undergoing intravitreal injections, as evidenced by the improvement in DEQ5 scores.

Study funded by an Alcon investigator initiated study (IIT# 63977677).