Combination Therapy With Diquafosol Sodium and Sodium Hyaluronate in Eyes With Dry Eye Disease After Small Incision Lenticule Extraction

Abstract

Background/Aim: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of combination therapy with diquafosol sodium and sodium hyaluronate in dry eye patients after small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE). Patients and Methods: A prospective randomized controlled study was conducted on consecutive patients who were diagnosed with dry eye disease (DED) and ready to accept SMILE from January 2021 to December 2021. The participants were randomly allocated to either a combination with diquafosol sodium 3% and sodium hyaluronate 0.3% group (DQS group, n=40) or a sodium hyaluronate 0.3% group (HA group, n=41). Dry eye disease parameters included tear film break-up time (TBUT), Shirmer I test (SIT), corneal and conjunctival fluorescein staining score (FS score), and Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI); tests were conducted before surgery and at 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months after surgery. Results: At 1 week after surgery, there were no statistically significant overall differences in DED parameters between the 2 groups. At postoperative month 1, the FS score was significantly lower in the DQS group than in the HA group (1.20±1.06 vs. 1.83±1.41 respectively, p=0.026). At 3 months after the surgery, the DQS group was significantly superior to the HA group in OSDI (12.98±7.29 vs. 16.82±8.25, p=0.029), TBUT (5.83±2.02 vs. 4.24±0.94, p=0.0002), and SIT (7.75±3.92 vs. 5.24±3.42, p=0.003). Conclusion: Our study showed that combination therapy with diquafosol and hyaluronate was beneficial for improving both signs and symptoms of dry eye patients after small incision lenticule extraction.