title: Improvement of chronic epiphora symptoms after surgery in patients with different preoperative schirmer-test values.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To compare improvement of epiphora symptoms after surgery between patients who had different preoperative basal Schirmer test values.
  
  
  METHODS
  
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective comparative case-series study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-two consecutive patients (one eye/patient) undergoing surgery for chronic epiphora symptoms resistant to ≥ 6 months of medical treatments (who incidentally had a preoperative basal [oxybuprocain-HCL 0.4 %] Schirmer-test and a postoperative one-year follow-up) were ranked according to their preoperative basal Schirmer test values and divided into two groups of equal size: group I, patients with lower (0 to 6 mm) and group II, patients with higher (7 to 25 mm) Schirmer test values.
  
  
  METHODS
  Combination of Piffaretti's endocanlicular endoscopic lacrimal drainage (22 patients), lacrimal intubation (8 patients), lacrimal punctoplasty (22 patients), lateral canthoplasty (18 patients), and/or conjunctivochalasis (8 patients) surgical procedures.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Subjective self-perceptions of improvement of their epiphora symptoms was made by the patients one-year after surgery.
  
  
  RESULTS
  While between groups I and II mean (± SD) preoperative basal Schirmer test values significantly differed (4 ± 3 mm/ 5 min vs. 10 ± 6 mm/ 5 min, p ≤ 0.001, Mann-Whitney rank sum test), the mean postoperative improvement of epiphora symptoms did not (82 ± 30 % vs. 76 ± 34 %, p = 0.92) and no significant (rho = -0.11, p = 0.62, Spearman rank correlation coefficient) correlation between Schirmer test values and symptoms improvement was found. In both groups > 70 % of patients reported ≥ 70 % (satisfactory) postoperative improvement.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the present study, patients who had different preoperative basal Schirmer test values reported having very similar epiphora symptoms improvement one-year after surgery.
authors.affiliation: Leonhards-PraxisKLINIK, Basel, Switzerland. ivan.haefliger@bluewin.ch
authors.forename: I O
authors.initials: IO
authors.lastname: Haefliger
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Keskinaslan
authors.forename: J-M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Piffaretti
authors.forename: A-R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Pimentel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003941:Diagnostic Techniques, Ophthalmological; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007766:Lacrimal Apparatus Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016896:Treatment Outcome