Conjunctival impression cytology and dry eye symptoms

18 Pages Posted: 9 Aug 2021

See all articles by Julia Tau

Julia Tau

Departament of Pathology; Departament of Pathology

Isabel Marquez

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Rafael Iribarren

Drs. Iribarren Eye Consultants

Alejandro Berra

Departament of Pathology

Date Written: June 24, 2021

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate the factors involved in dry eye and its correlations with the ocular symptoms referred by patients considering bulbar conjunctival impression cytology.
Methods: This study involved 214 consecutive patients who arrived at a laboratory of ocular surface disease for conjunctival impression cytology. They voluntarily conducted a self-evaluation questionnaire of ocular symptoms and environmental factors.
Results: The patients who referred a diagnosis of dry eye had more ocular symptoms of dryness, gritty eyes, burning and light sensitivity, while they had less watery eyes (p <0.05). In a logistic regression analysis, taking outdoor hours as a dependent variable and ocular symptoms as covariates, a positive association was found between outdoor hours and itching (B = 0.865, p = 0.018). No significant difference was found between patients with normal and altered bulbar conjunctival impression cytology in the amount of reported ocular symptoms. In addition, in a logistic regression analysis, no association was found between the result of the conjunctival impression cytology and the presence of any of the symptoms surveyed.
Conclusion: None of the ocular symptoms referred by patients was pathognomonic of dry eye. Also, none of the ocular symptoms showed correlation with the objective study of the conjunctiva. Thus, bulbar conjunctival impression cytology aids in the diagnosis of dry eye.

Note: Funding: Missing.

Declaration of Interests: Missing.

Ethics Approval Statement: This was a observational cross-sectional study authorized by the Ethics Committee of the Argentine Council of Ophthalmology. The Helsinsky Declaration of 1975 for human studies was taken into account.

Keywords: conjunctival impression cytology, dry eye, symptoms

JEL Classification: I1

Suggested Citation

Tau, Julia and Marquez, Isabel and Iribarren, Rafael and Berra, Alejandro, Conjunctival impression cytology and dry eye symptoms (June 24, 2021). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3873059 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3873059

Julia Tau (Contact Author)

Departament of Pathology ( email )

PE Uriburu 950
CABA, Buenos Aires 1114
Argentina

Departament of Pathology ( email )

PE Uriburu 950
CABA, Buenos Aires 1114
Argentina

Isabel Marquez

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Rafael Iribarren

Drs. Iribarren Eye Consultants ( email )

Argentina

Alejandro Berra

Departament of Pathology ( email )

PE Uriburu 950
CABA, Buenos Aires 1114
Argentina

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