BACKGROUND There have been increased reports of dry eyes in the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) pandemic era.AIM To analyze the differences in tear film properties from pre-and post-pandemic of the COVID-19 era.MET...BACKGROUND There have been increased reports of dry eyes in the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) pandemic era.AIM To analyze the differences in tear film properties from pre-and post-pandemic of the COVID-19 era.METHODS It was a retrospective comparative study.Patients were divided into three groups according to the data of multimodal ocular surface evaluation:(1) Group 1 if it was before Portugal lockdown decision(from August 2019 to March 2020);(2) Group 2 if it was after Portugal lockdown decision but without mask mandate(from April 2020 to October 2020);and(3) Group 3 if it was after Portugal lockdown but with mask mandate in health public highway(from November 2020 to April 2021).The following variables were analyzed:Lipid layer thickness,blink rate,Schirmer test,tear meniscus height,tear osmolarity,non-invasive break-up time,and loss area of the meibomian glands.RESULTS The study included 548 eyes of 274 patients,aged 18 years to 89 years,with a mean age of 66.15 ± 13.40 years at the time of multimodal ocular surface evaluation.Compared to group 1:(1) Mean lipid layer thickness was better in group 2(P = 0.001) and group 3(P < 0.001);(2) Schirmer test was similar in group 2(P = 0.576) and better in group 3(P = 0.002);(3) Tear osmolarity and loss area of the meibomian glands were worse in group 2(P = 0.031 and P < 0.001,respectively) and in group 3(both with P < 0.001);(4) Blink rate and tear meniscus height were similar in group 2(P = 0.821 and P = 0.370,respectively) and worse in group 3(P < 0.001 and P = 0.038,respectively);and(5) Non-invasive break-up time was worse in group 2(P = 0.030) and similar in group 3(P = 0.263).CONCLUSION Our study demonstrated that differences existed in tear film properties comparing data from the pre-and post-pandemic of the COVID-19 era.展开更多
文摘BACKGROUND There have been increased reports of dry eyes in the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) pandemic era.AIM To analyze the differences in tear film properties from pre-and post-pandemic of the COVID-19 era.METHODS It was a retrospective comparative study.Patients were divided into three groups according to the data of multimodal ocular surface evaluation:(1) Group 1 if it was before Portugal lockdown decision(from August 2019 to March 2020);(2) Group 2 if it was after Portugal lockdown decision but without mask mandate(from April 2020 to October 2020);and(3) Group 3 if it was after Portugal lockdown but with mask mandate in health public highway(from November 2020 to April 2021).The following variables were analyzed:Lipid layer thickness,blink rate,Schirmer test,tear meniscus height,tear osmolarity,non-invasive break-up time,and loss area of the meibomian glands.RESULTS The study included 548 eyes of 274 patients,aged 18 years to 89 years,with a mean age of 66.15 ± 13.40 years at the time of multimodal ocular surface evaluation.Compared to group 1:(1) Mean lipid layer thickness was better in group 2(P = 0.001) and group 3(P < 0.001);(2) Schirmer test was similar in group 2(P = 0.576) and better in group 3(P = 0.002);(3) Tear osmolarity and loss area of the meibomian glands were worse in group 2(P = 0.031 and P < 0.001,respectively) and in group 3(both with P < 0.001);(4) Blink rate and tear meniscus height were similar in group 2(P = 0.821 and P = 0.370,respectively) and worse in group 3(P < 0.001 and P = 0.038,respectively);and(5) Non-invasive break-up time was worse in group 2(P = 0.030) and similar in group 3(P = 0.263).CONCLUSION Our study demonstrated that differences existed in tear film properties comparing data from the pre-and post-pandemic of the COVID-19 era.
