Methodologies to diagnose and monitor dry eye disease: report of the Diagnostic Methodology Subcommittee of the International Dry Eye WorkShop (2007).

The role of the Diagnostic Methodology Subcommittee of the Dry Eye Workshop was 1) to identify tests used to screen, diagnose and monitor dry eye disease, 2) to establish criteria for test performance, and 3) to consider the utility of tests in a variety of clinical settings. The committee created a database of tests used to diagnose and monitor dry eye, each compiled by an expert in the field (rapporteur) and presented within a standard template. Development of the templates involved an iterative process between the Chairman of the subcommittee, the rapporteurs, and, at times, an additional group of expert reviewers. This process is ongoing. Each rapporteur was instructed on how to the complete a template, using a proforma template and an example of a completed template. Rapporteurs used the literature and other available sources as the basis for constructing their assigned template. The chairman of the subcommittee modifed the template to produce a standardized version and reviewed it with the rapporteur. The completed database will be searchable by an alphabetical list of test names, as well as by functional groupings, for instance, tests of aqueous dynamics, lipid functions, etc. The templates can be accessed on the website of the Tear Film and Ocular Surface Society (www.tearfilm.org). This report provides a general overview of the criteria applied in the development of tests for screening and diagnosis.