Characteristics of inconsistent symptoms and signs of dry eye in patients with Sjögren syndrome

Methods  A case-control study was performed.Thirty-eight patients (38 eyes) who visited the dry-eye outpatient department at Peking University People’s Hospital were enrolled from January to October 2021.The patients were divided into a non-SS (NSS) group (25 cases, 25 eyes) and a SS group (13 cases, 13 eyes) according to without or with SS.The data of right eyes were analyzed.The patients’ subjective symptoms were scored and their objective clinical parameters were evaluated.Evaluation of subjective symptoms included Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI), Standard Patient Evaluation of eye dryness (SPEED) Questionnaire and Dry Eye Questionnaire-5 (DEQ-5).Objective clinical parameters included Schirmer Ⅰ test (SⅠt), tear film breakup time (TBUT), SICCA ocular staining score (OSS), National Eye Institute (NEI) score, Marx line score, non-invasive tear film breakup time (NIBUT), non-invasive tear meniscus height (NITMH), meibomian gland loss area ratio, the number of corneal subepithelial nerves, total nerve length, mean nerve length, maximum nerve length, minimum nerve length, nerve curvature, and number of dendritic cells.Differences in subjective symptoms and clinical parameters were compared between the two groups, and correlation analysis between ocular symptom scores and objective clinical parameters was performed.This study adhered to the Declaration of Helsinki.The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Peking University People’s Hospital (No.RDY2020-03).Written informed consent was obtained from each subject.

Results  The OSDI, SPEED and DEQ-5 scores of SS group were 10.9(2.1, 23.1), 4.0(2.0, 7.0) and 7.0(3.5, 9.5), respectively, which were significantly lower than 37.5(26.0, 64.9), 10.5(7.0, 13.0) and 13.0(6.8, 14.3) of NSS group ( Z=-2.70, -3.01, -2.14; all P<0.05).TBUT was longer in the SS group than in the NSS group, and the difference was statistically significant ( Z=-2.10, P=0.038).No significant difference was found in SⅠt, OSS, Marx line score, NIBUT, NITMH, meibomian gland loss area ratio, the number of corneal subepithelial nerves, total nerve length, mean nerve length, maximum nerve length, minimum nerve length, nerve curvature, and number of dendritic cells (all P>0.05).The OSS of nasal conjunctiva was significantly higher in the SS group than in the NSS group ( Z=-2.32, P=0.023).There were no correlations between the subjective symptoms and objective clinical parameters in NSS group (all P>0.05).The SPEED score was positively correlated with the Marx line score of upper eye lid ( r _s =0.573, P=0.041) and the OSDI score was negatively correlated with the minimum nerve length ( r _s =-0.606, P=0.037) in SS group.

Conclusions  Patients with SS dry eye have more nasal conjunctival staining and fewer subjective symptoms than NSS dry eye patients with the same signs, which manifests as a separation of symptoms and signs.

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