Dry eye disease during COVID-19: Need for investment into research to develop solutions?

Abstract

Purpose: To review the Clinical Trial Registry of India (CTRI) for clinical trials registered for the interventions for the treatment of dry eye disease. Methods: CTRI was manually searched by using the different key words related to the dry eye. Trials registered after 2009 were included in the analysis. All the parameters like type of interventions, phase of trial, sample size etc of the each trial were extracted in the predesigned proforma. Descriptive statistics was reported in the form of frequency and percentages. Results: Total 35 trials were registered since 2010. Majority were phase 4 trials (Post Marketing Surveillance). More than half of the registered trials were related to the ayurvedic products. Most frequent allopathic intervention was lubricant and most frequently used comparator was Carboxy Methyl Cellulose. Range of sample size in different trials was 30-300. Conclusion: A good number of trials related to the ayurvedic drugs are registered for dry eye. There is a need for similar research efforts for allopathic interventions.