Longitudinal Real-World Study Of Patients With Demodex Blepharitis In The United States: The Orion Study
Published 2025 - 43rd Congress of the ESCRS
Reference: PO629 | Type: Free paper | DOI: 10.82333/ecwx-xf62
Authors: Lawrence Woodard 1 , Li-Chen Pan* 2 , Carine Hsiao 2 , Dana Gummerson 3 , George Wright 3
1Atlanta Eye Surgery Center,Atlanta,United States, 2Global HEOR,Alcon,Fort Worth,United States, 3Value & Evidence,EVERSANA,Burlington,Canada
Purpose
Demodex blepharitis (DB) is a highly prevalent eyelid margin disease that affects 58% of adult patients visiting eye care clinics in the US. The Orion study is a longitudinal, real-world registry of DB patients. The purpose is to understand the real-world journey of DB patients, including unmet needs, patient-reported outcomes, current treatments, and their outcomes over time.
Setting
Adult patients in the US with a diagnosis of DB were followed longitudinally and were asked to complete web-based questionnaires at multiple timepoints.
Methods
This is an ongoing, real-world, multicenter registry study of patients aged 18 years and older with a DB diagnosis for at least 1 month. Patients were enrolled by their eye care providers and were asked to complete self-administered, web-assisted questionnaires at baseline and subsequently at months 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12. Demographics, concomitant medications, patient-reported outcomes, and discomfort rate (scale 0 [no discomfort] – 100 [intolerable discomfort]) were assessed.
Results
145 patients completed 1-month follow-up. Most patients (89%) were symptomatic at baseline. The most reported symptoms were dryness of eyes (68%), burning/stinging (55%), itchy eyelids (54%), redness of eyes (54%), and fluctuating/blurry vision (51%). Lotilaner ophthalmic solution 0.25% was the most used treatment for DB (38.6%). At 3-month follow-up, more DB patients on lotilaner showed improvement in redness (52% vs 17%, p=0.015), itchy eyelids (52% vs 17%, p=0.008), fluctuating/blurry vision (43% vs 8.3%, p=0.004), burning (57% vs 17%, p=0.002), and dryness (70% vs 19%, p=0.0005) compared to those on non-lotilaner options.
Conclusions
The results demonstrate the significant disease burden of Demodex blepharitis in the real-world setting. Significantly more Demodex blepharitis patients on lotilaner ophthalmic solution 0.25% demonstrated improvement in multiple symptoms compared to those on non-lotilaner management options. Longitudinal data from more patients will provide further understanding of the disease burden of Demodex blepharitis and the impact of different treatment options over time.