title: Still confused about rose bengal?
abstract: We have surveyed the ophthalmic literature of the last five years in an attempt to evaluate the use and usefulness of Rose Bengal staining as an aid to differential diagnosis in dry eyes. Included both as a criterion and as an adjunct measure of disease progression, Rose Bengal scores of patients with different dry eye conditions overlap, sometimes to a considerable extent. A mechanistic link between staining with this dye and disease etiology is unlikely; however, Rose Bengal could be a surrogate marker of changes in ocular surface physiology. The question whether the extent and pattern of staining with Rose Bengal provide the clinician with information not available from other tests, and in particular from fluorescein staining of the ocular surface, has to be answered positively, though the nature of this information is not clearly understood. A more widespread recognition that Rose Bengal is not a vital dye is necessary in order not to bias the interpretation of experimental results.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Bristol Eye Hospital, Bristol BS1 2LX, UK.
authors.forename: Doreen
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Khan-Lim
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Berry
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D018450:Disease Progression; D015352:Dry Eye Syndromes / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D012395:Rose Bengal / Q000009:adverse effects; D013194:Staining and Labeling / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D012395:Rose Bengal