TREATMENT SJÖGREN'S SYNDROME ASSOCIATED DRY EYE - IMPACT ON KERATOMETRIC PARAMETERS AND IOL POWER CALCULATIONS

To evaluate the impact of Sjögren's Syndrome associated dry eye treatment in biometric and keratometric parameters and its influence on intraocular lens (IOL) power calculations and selection.

ULSAS | Hospital Garcia de Orta

Patients with Sjögren's Syndrome, older than 18 years and with no history of dry eye treatment in the past 6 months, were randomly assigned to one of three groups: Group 1: lipid-containing lubricating eye drops 4 times a day; Group 2: lacrimal occlusion with punctal plug; and Group 3: control group with no intervention. Patients were observed at baseline and after four weeks of treatment. The protocol included biometry with IOL Master 700 (Zeiss) and corneal tomography with Pentacam (Oculus). Keratometric data included K1, K2 and astigmatism amount. The data variation between the two visits was calculated. Biometric data was analyzed and one single IOL model was selected to evaluate the influence of treatment in IOL power calculation for emmetropia (the first negative residual refractive error was considered). For statistical purposes, only one eye of each patient was considered. Statistical significance was defined by p<0.05.

55 eyes from 55 patients were included (96.6% females) and homogeneously distributed by the three groups. Mean age was 62.78 ± 9.35 years. K2 absolute variation was significantly different between groups: 0.25 ± 0.25 D, 0.14 ± 0.11 D, and 0.14 ± 0.13 D in Groups 1, 2, and 3 respectively (p<0.05). Astigmatism absolute variation between measurements was significantly different between groups: 0.27 ± 0.31 D, 0.13 ± 0.10 D and 0.15 ± 0.10 D in Groups 1, 2, and 3 respectively (p<0.05). IOL power absolute variation was 0.16 ± 0.16 D, 0.25 ± 0.28 D, 0.21 ± 0.21 D in Groups 1, 2 and 3 respectively. Different IOL power selection for the same patient was registered in 18 patients (33.73%): 6 in Group 1 (31.58%), 8 in Group 2 (44.44%) and 4 in Group 3 (22.22%).

This study shows that Sjögren's Syndrome associated dry eye treatment could significantly influence keratometric measurements which in turn impacts IOL power selection. Despite the strategy, patients who received treatment registered higher variability in keratometry (K1 and K2) and astigmatism amount. Our results highlight the importance of managing dry eye effectively to improve the precision of IOL selection and optimize surgical outcomes.