Clinical efficacy of sodium hyaluronate and bFGF eye drops in dry eye and eyes after LASIK

Objective To observe the efficiency and safety of 0.1% sodium hyaluronate(SH)eye drops and basic fibroblast growth factor(bFGF) eye drops in simplex dry eye and dry eye after LASIK. Design Randomized controlled study. Participants 70 cases with simplex dry eye(group Ⅰ) and 40 post-LASIK cases(group Ⅱ) from January 2012 to August 2012. Method There were two subgroups in group Ⅰ and group Ⅱ respectively. 0.1% SH(A) and bFGF(B) eye drops were used randomly, four times a day for 14 days in group Ⅰ and 30 days in group Ⅱ. Changes of symptoms and signs were observed at different times. Dry eye symptoms including asthenopia, foreign body sensation, eye dry, burning sensation, swelling sensation, ophthalmodynia, conjunctiva congestion and photophobia were scored using questionnaire survey. Main Outcome Measures Score of dry eye symptoms, tear break-up time(BUT), Schirmer TestⅠ,corneal fluorescein staining(FL), symptoms changes of self-evaluation. Results Ocular symptoms and signs improved significantly after treatment in both subgroups of group Ⅰ(P0.05). 0.1% SH eye drops was better than bFGF eye drops in improving asthenopia(P=0.006) and ophthalmodynia(P=0.040) at 14 days after treatment(P0.05). SH was better to improve BUT(P=0.055) and Schirmer TestⅠ(P=0.573),and bFGF was better to reduce corneal fluorescein staining(P=0.375), but the different was not significant. Significant change of symptoms in patients using SH eye drops and bFGF eye drops were 94.3% and 78.6%, respectively. In group Ⅱ, there were symptoms in 1and 3 days after LASIK, and improved in 10 and 30 days post-operation. SH eye drops was better than bFGF eye drops in improving foreign body sensation(P=0.004), burning sensation(P0.001), swelling sensation(P=0.005) and conjunctiva congestion(P=0.007). BUT and Schirmer TestⅠ decreased in 10 days after LASIK, but increased in 30 days, than that of 10 days after operation(groupⅡA BUT:P=0.142, Schirmer TestⅠ: P=0.053; groupⅡB BUT: P=0.006, Schirmer TestⅠ: P=0.010). Corneal fluorescein staining aggravated in 10 day after LASIK, and improved in 30 days, with significant differences(groupⅡA P=0.005, groupⅡB P=0.079). There was no significant difference between groupⅡA and groupⅡB in changes of dry eye signs. No side-effect was found during observation. Conclusion SH and bFGF eye drops can facilitate corneal epithelial repair, improve tear film stability, and alleviate various symptoms in simplex dry eye and post-LASIK patients. SH eye drops is better than bFGF eye drops in improving certain symptoms including asthenopia, foreign body sensation, burning sensation, swelling sensation, conjunctiva congestion and ophthalmodynia.