Evaluation of an isotonic tear in combination with topical cyclosporine for the treatment of ocular surface disease.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether a new category of artificial tear product, carboxymethylcellulose 0.5% with compatible solutes (CMC-solutes) (Optive, Allergan, Inc., Irvine, California) improves clinical outcomes when used adjunctively with topical cyclosporine 0.05% (Restasis, Allergan, Inc., Irvine, California) for the treatment of ocular surface disease.


METHODS
Nineteen patients with ocular surface disease treated with cyclosporine 0.05% for at least 3 months and who had previously used other artificial tears adjunctively were enrolled. Patients discontinued their previous artificial tear and used CMC-solutes, concomitant with topical cyclosporine 0.05%. Corneal evaluation and tear production parameters were evaluated before and during combined CMC-solutes/cyclosporine treatment. Patients also completed a questionnaire before and during treatment with combined CMC-solutes/cyclosporine. Follow-up was at 1 and 3 months.


RESULTS
Most objective measures of ocular surface health were unchanged, but an improvement in conjunctival lissamine green staining and tear break-up time was found. Conjunctival lissamine green staining scores improved from 3.4 +/- 2.5 to 1.9 +/- 2.5 by Month 3 (p = 0.004). Tear break-up time improved from 4.6 +/- 3.9 s pre-treatment to 5.3 +/- 3.8 s post-treatment (p = 0.049). Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) scores improved from 16.2 +/- 9.4 at baseline to 11.5 +/- 8.9 at month 3 (p = 0.007). Subjectively, patients graded their ocular discomfort as 2.7 at baseline and as 2.3 at Month 3 (p = 0.049). At Month 3, 89.5% of patients said they liked CMC-solutes as well or better than previous drops they had used. All patients said CMC-solutes provided similar or improved relief of symptoms of dry eye than previous eye drops. There were no tear-related adverse events reported.


CONCLUSIONS
In this study, CMC-solutes, when used in conjunction with cyclosporine 0.05%, provided patients with an improvement in objective signs and subjective symptoms of ocular surface disease compared to their previous artificial tears. Further studies are warranted.
Hardten
David R
DR
Minnesota Eye Consultants, Minneapolis, MN 55404, USA. drhardten@mneye.com
Brown
Marlane J
MJ
Pham-Vang
Sandy
S
D000287:Administration, Topical; D000368:Aged; D016572:Cyclosporine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019573:Epithelium, Corneal / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009883:Ophthalmic Solutions; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014985:Xerophthalmia / Q000188:drug therapy*