J Korean Ophthalmol Soc.  2018 Dec;59(12):1103-1107. 10.3341/jkos.2018.59.12.1103.

Effect of Intense Regulated Pulse Light on Thickness of Tear Film Lipid Layer and Dry Eye Syndrome

• Gil TY
• Bae GH
• Kwag JY
• Hyun J
• Choi JS
• Pak KH
• Chung SK

• KMID: 2428680
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3341/jkos.2018.59.12.1103

Abstract

PURPOSE
To evaluate the clinical effect of intense regulated pulse light (IRPL) and changes in tear film thickness in dry eye patients.
METHODS
A retrospective study was conducted on 25 patients with Meibomian gland dysfunction who had subjective dry eye discomfort and whose tear film break-up time (TBUT) was < 10 seconds. All patients were treated with IRPL three times on days 1, 15, and 45. TBUT, Schirmer 1 test results, cornea staining score with fluorescein, ocular surface disease index (OSDI), and lipid layer thickness were measured and compared before and after the procedure.
RESULTS
TBUT was significantly increased from 3.7 ± 1.2 s to 4.4 ± 2.1 s after IRPL (p = 0.03). Schirmer 1 test and cornea staining scores changed significantly (p < 0.01 and p = 0.01, respectively). OSDI also showed a statistically significant improvement from 39.5 ± 17.5 points to 30.4 ± 18.7 points (p = 0.01). However, no significant difference in lipid layer thickness was observed (p = 0.49).
CONCLUSIONS
IRPL is an effective treatment modality to improve TBUT, Schirmer 1 test scores, cornea staining scores, and subjective dry eye symptoms.

Keyword

Dry eye syndrome; Intense pulse light (IPL); Intense regulated pulse light (IRPL); Lipid layer thickness (LLT); Lipiview

MeSH Terms

Cornea
Dry Eye Syndromes*
Fluorescein
Humans
Meibomian Glands
Retrospective Studies
Tears*
Fluorescein

Figure

• 

  Figure 1 Photograph of the intense regulated pulse light device (E-Eye; E-SWIN, Houdan, France).

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  Figure 2 Intense regulated pulse light treatment zone. The hand piece treats the highlighted areas for a total of 5 spots on each side of the face, and is then repeated in a second pass. Proper ocular protection is used.

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