Ocular pain response to treatment in dry eye patients.

Purpose: Pain is a frequently reported symptom in dry eye disease (DED). We examine the factors associated with ocular pain severity and patient-reported improvement in ocular pain to commonly used dry eye and pain treatments.

Methods: Cross-sectional study of patients presenting for dry eye management. Demographics, ocular and medical history, OSDI, numeric pain scale, pain descriptors, and subjective response to tried eye drop, systemic, and non-pharmacologic treatments were collected. Statistical analysis was performed to identify differential treatment response in patients with various pain levels using the non-parametric test for trend.

Results: 144 patients were categorized into 4 groups according to reported pain severity. Increasing pain was significantly associated with younger age, history of refractive surgery, higher OSDI score, and less likelihood of corneal staining. Patients with higher pain intensity were more likely to report a history of fibromyalgia, depression, anxiety, and migraine. Patients with greater pain severity were less responsive to treatment with artificial tears (p < 0.001), lubricating ointment (p = 0.002), steroid eye drops (p = 0.03), cyclosporine 0.05% (p = 0.03), 20% autologous serum tears (p = 0.01), hot compresses (p = 0.04), lid hygiene (p = 0.002) and punctal occlusion (p = 0.03).

Conclusions: Dry eye patients with severe ocular pain often have associated psychological and systemic pain conditions. Treating the underlying DED is beneficial in reducing ocular pain, however the low rate of a satisfactory response highlights the need for further investigation of effective therapies. Cross-sectional studies can provide guidance in the treatment of patients with dry eye-related ocular pain and guide future prospective studies on potentially effective therapies.