Objective: To investigate the effect of comprehensive treatment on ocular surface function and the visual quality of online teachers with a mild-to-moderate dry eye condition during the early phase of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods: Secondary school online teachers diagnosed with a mild-to-moderate dry eye disease in our outpatient clinic from February to May 2020 were enrolled in this retro-spective cross-section study, and all patients received dry eye comprehensive treatment. A questionnaire survey on eye-use habits, visual quality and dry eye-related indicators was collected before and after treatment (2 and 4 weeks). The changes and the correlations between indicators before and after treatment were compared. Results: A total of 30 patients (15 females and 15 males) were included. After comprehensive treatment, patients had significantly higher central tear meniscus height (TMH), non-invasive first tear film breakup time (NIBUTf) and non-invasive average tear film breakup time (NIBUTav) than those before with statistical significance (P < 0.05). Lower ocular surface disease index (OSDI) and Meibomian gland scores were observed after treatment with statistical significance (P < 0.05). Objective scatter index (OSI), modulation transfer function (MTF) cutoff, strehl ratio (SR), and tear film objective scatter index (TF-OSI) were significantly improved after treatment (P < 0.05). Besides, TF-OSI was positively correlated with the changes in OSDI, Meibomian gland score, eye-use duration and OSI with statistical significance (P < 0.05), while it was negatively correlated with NIBUTf, NIBUTav, the TMH of the central lower eyelid, SR, sleep duration, conjunctival congestion and the MTF cutoff (P < 0.05), respectively. No correlation between TF-OSI and ciliary congestion was found (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Comprehensive treatment could effectively improve the symptoms and visual quality of online teachers with a mild-to-moderate dry eye condition during the early stage of COVID-19 pandemic.
CITATION STYLE
Wang, Y. X., Kang, G. J., Zhou, J., Li, K. M., & Xu, M. H. (2021). The effect and the mechanism of comprehensive treatment on the ocular surface and the visual quality of online teachers with a mild-to-moderate dry eye condition during the early phase of coronavirus disease 2019. International Journal of General Medicine, 14, 6787–6793. https://doi.org/10.2147/IJGM.S331789
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