Comparison of the efficacy of cyclosporine drops, teardrop closure and combined application in the treatment of dry eye

Dry eye is an ocular surface disorder caused by abnormalities in the quality or quantity of tears from any cause. Supplementation of artificial tears and implantation of tear plugs are common treatments. Recent studies have confirmed that tear film instability, component changes and failure to renew the tear film in a timely manner will affect the normal function of the ocular surface epithelium. Tear film changes in patients with dry eyes include decreased tear volume, increased osmotic concentration, imbalance in cytokine levels and increased matrix metalloproteinases, based on activation of ocular surface immune cells, overexpression of adhesion molecules, and apoptosis of conjunctival and glandular epithelial cells. Clinical manifestations include dry eyes, tiger red staining of the ocular surface epithelium and reduced tear production. Topical cyclosporine A (CsA) can modulate ocular surface immunity and thereby regulate tear components and tear production. The implantation of tear plugs alone may improve the patient’s subjective and objective symptoms, but may increase the inflammation of the ocular surface. Therefore, the International Committee of Dry Eye Experts recommends that the ocular surface condition of the patient be improved prior to tear suppository treatment. A comparison of the efficacy of topical treatment of ocular surface inflammation with teardrop suppositories alone and CsA alone for dry eye has not been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of topical CsA drops, implanted teardrop suppositories, and a combination of both methods in the treatment of dry eye. bolus and CsA ophthalmic solution combination treatment group, 10 patients in each group. During the treatment, artificial tears were added as needed by the patients, and the number of their use was recorded, and the tear Schirmer values and corneoconjunctival tiger red staining before and 1, 3, and 6 months after treatment were compared among the three groups, and statistical analysis was performed using paired t-tests. RESULTS: The mean age of patients in this study was 52.1 years (38-63 years), 83.3% were female and 16.7% were male; after 6 months of treatment, the Schirmer values of all dry eye patients were significantly improved compared with those before treatment (p≤0.005); the Schirmer values of the tear spot suppository group and the combined treatment group in the early stage of treatment (3 months) The Schirmer value improved significantly in the early treatment period (3 months) and the combined treatment group, with p≤0.001 compared to the CsA group, and there was no difference between the three groups at 6 months of treatment. In terms of Bengal red staining of the corneal epithelium, the staining was significantly reduced in the CsA treatment group after 3-6 months of treatment, with a significant difference compared to the tear spotting bolus treatment group (p≤0.005). Regarding the number of artificial tears spotted, there was no significant reduction in the number of artificial tears in the CsA group at 3 months, and a significant reduction in the other two groups, and a significant reduction in the number of artificial tears in all three groups at 6 months, with no significant difference between the groups. In addition, the combination of tear spot suppository and topical CsA treatment resulted in maximum improvement of the tear film and was superior to the group treated with tear spot suppository alone (p = 0.012). This experiment shows that all three treatments are effective in treating dry eyes, and that teardrop suppositories and CsA act through two different mechanisms, with teardrop suppositories improving ocular surface wetness at an early stage and CsA reducing immunopathology, suppressing inflammation, and promoting ocular surface health in the long term, and that these two treatment mechanisms are synergistic. In conclusion, it is advisable to add cyclosporine A to control ocular surface inflammation when using teardrop suppositories for dry eyes.