Thermal Pulsation Therapy (Lipiflow®): A Retrospective Analysis of Its Impact on Meibomian Gland Dysfunction and Dry Eye Disease.

OBJECTIVES

The study aimed to evaluate the short-term effects of thermal pulsation therapy on dry eye parameters and meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) in patients with evaporative dry eye.

METHODS

A retrospective, single-center study included 250 eyes of 125 symptomatic patients with evaporative dry eye disease (DED) due to MGD. Patients received a single 12-min thermal pulsation therapy (LipiFlow®) (TearScience Inc., Morrisville, NC, USA). Before and at 1 and 6 months after treatment, the presence of DED and MGD was evaluated using the Schirmer-I test, tear break-up time (TBUT), oxfordstaining score, and meibomian gland secretion (MGS) score. Subjective dry eye complaints were measured using the ocular surface disease index (OSDI) score.

RESULTS

The LipiFlow treatment improved both clinical signs (Schirmer I test, Oxford staining score, MGS score, and TBUT, respectively, p=0.000, p=0.000, p=0.000, p=0.000) and symptoms (OSDI scores p=0.000) up to 1 month post-treatment. While TBUT and MGS scores (respectively p=0.008, p=0.035) continued to improve until the 6th month, improvements in Schirmer I test, Oxford staining, and OSDI scores (respectively p=0.000, p=0.000, p=0.000) were sustained through 6 months.

CONCLUSION

It has been observed that single-session thermal pulsation treatment provides improvement in MGD and dry eye parameters up to 6 months and decreases in OSDI scores, indicating subjective complaints of patients. This treatment is thought to be an effective treatment option in evaporative DED secondary to MGD.