Abstract:

Objective    To evaluate the clinical efficacy of SmartPlug lacrimal plug in the treatment of aqueous tear deficiency dry eye.  Methods    SmartPlug lacrimal plugs were inserted to treat 42 cases of aqueous tear deficiency dry eye (84 eyes). All patients were followed-up for 5-15 months（average 8.3 months）. Schirmer I test (SIT) ，tear breakup time (TBUT), and fluorescent of cornea (FL) were used to evaluate the clinical efficacy. Results     ①Pre- and posttreatment SIT  were 3.41±0.60mm and 5.75±0.44mm(P<0.05), respectively; ② Pre- and post-treatment  TBUT  were 3.75±1.26 seconds and 6.46±1.47 seconds (P<0.05), respectively; ③Pre- and posttreatment FL were 2.45±0.06 and 0.04±0.02 (P<0.05), respectively;④The subjective symptoms improved in most patients. Conclusions    The SmartPlug lacrimal plug is effective in the treatment of aqueous tear deficiency dry eye. Moreover, it is recommended that lacrimal punctual occlusion should be done before irreversible damages of the ocular surface.

Key words: Dry eye; Lacrimal plug