Defining dry eye from a clinical perspective

Tsubota K, Pflugfelder SC, Liu Z, Baudouin C, Kim HM, Messmer EM, Kruse F, Liang L, Carreno-Galeano JT, Rolando M, Yokoi N, Kinoshita S, Dana R (2020)

Publication Type: Journal article, Review article

Publication year: 2020

Journal

International Journal of Molecular Sciences MDPI

Book Volume: 21

Pages Range: 1-24

Article Number: 9271

Journal Issue: 23

DOI: 10.3390/ijms21239271

Abstract

Over the past decades, the number of patients with dry eye disease (DED) has increased dramatically. The incidence of DED is higher in Asia than in Europe and North America, suggesting the involvement of cultural or racial factors in DED etiology. Although many definitions of DED have been used, discrepancies exist between the various definitions of dry eye disease (DED) used across the globe. This article presents a clinical consensus on the definition of DED, as formulated in four meetings with global DED experts. The proposed new definition is as follows: “Dry eye is a multifactorial disease characterized by a persistently unstable and/or deficient tear film (TF) causing discomfort and/or visual impairment, accompanied by variable degrees of ocular surface epitheliopathy, inflammation and neurosensory abnormalities.” The key criteria for the diagnosis of DED are unstable TF, inflammation, ocular discomfort and visual impairment. This definition also recommends the assessment of ocular surface epitheliopathy and neurosensory abnormalities in each patient with suspected DED. It is easily applicable in clinical practice and should help practitioners diagnose DED consistently. This consensus definition of DED should also help to guide research and clinical trials that, to date, have been hampered by the lack of an established surrogate endpoint.

Authors with CRIS profile

Friedrich Kruse Lehrstuhl für Augenheilkunde

Involved external institutions

Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine / 京都府立医科大学 JP Japan (JP) Xiamen University CN China (CN) Baylor College of Medicine US United States (USA) (US) Keio University JP Japan (JP) Korea University Medical Center (KUMC) KR Korea, Republic of (KR) Sun Yat-Sen University CN China (CN) Massachusetts Eye and Ear (MEE) US United States (USA) (US) Quinze-Vingts National Ophtalmology Hospital / Centre hospitalier national d’ophtalmologie des Quinze-Vingts FR France (FR) Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Tsubota, K., Pflugfelder, S.C., Liu, Z., Baudouin, C., Kim, H.M., Messmer, E.M.,... Dana, R. (2020). Defining dry eye from a clinical perspective. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 21(23), 1-24. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21239271

MLA:

Tsubota, Kazuo, et al. "Defining dry eye from a clinical perspective." International Journal of Molecular Sciences 21.23 (2020): 1-24.

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