Assessment of TFT by OCT in Healthy Subjects and Subjects With DES

Assessment of Tear Film Thickness by Optical Coherence Tomography in Healthy Subjects and Subjects With Dry Eye Disease

Dry eye syndrome (DES) is a highly prevalent ocular condition with potential severe consequences for affected patients. DES can be either caused by decreased tear production or increased tear evaporation, both leading to an instable tear film. Despite many efforts, generally accepted methodologies to diagnose, assess the severity and monitor DES are still lacking. Moreover, widely used clinical methods such as tear break up time (BUT), fluorescein staining of the cornea or Schirmer test only poorly reflect patients´ complains.

One of the main problems in the diagnosis and treatment of DES is that the most critical component - the tear film itself - is difficult to characterize. The development of new ultra-high resolution optical coherence tomography systems allows now for the direct visualization of the human tear film and for the non-invasive in-vivo measurement of tear film thickness (TFT). The investigators could recently show that this system provides excellent reproducibility and is able to assess even subtle changes in TFT induced by therapeutic interventions. However, to which extent tear film thickness is associated with other standard clinical measures of DES is currently unknown. In the present study, the investigators set out to test the hypothesis that ocular TFT is a new and good surrogate parameter for the assessment of the severity of DES.

Consequently, the aim of the study presented in this protocol is to investigate whether and if so, to what extent clinical signs of DES and reported symptoms are reflected in ocular TFT. For this purpose, a cross sectional study in healthy subjects and patients with DES will be performed. This should allow the investigators to more specifically characterize the role of the tear film in DES and to assess whether measurement of TFT with OCT can be a promising surrogate parameter for the diagnosis and the follow up of DES.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Dry Eye Syndromes

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 340

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Gerhard Garhofer, MD; Phone Number: 29810 +43 1 40400; Email: gerhard.garhoefer@meduniwien.ac.at
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Doreen Schmidl, MD, PhD; Phone Number: 29810 +43 1 40400; Email: doreen.schmidl@meduniwien.ac.at

Study Locations

• Austria
  • Vienna, Austria, 1090
    • Recruiting
    • Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
    • Contact: Gerhard Garhofer, MD; Phone Number: 29810 +43 1 40400; Email: gerhard.garhoefer@meduniwien.ac.at

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

85 healthy subjects with no history of DES 255 subjects with DES

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Inclusion criteria for healthy volunteers

• Men and women aged over 18 years
• Normal findings in the medical history unless the investigator considers an abnormality to be clinically irrelevant
• Normal ophthalmic findings, ametropia < 6 Dpt.

Inclusion criteria for patients with DES:

• Men and women aged over 18 years

• DES patients will be included based on three questions:

  • (1) "Have you ever been diagnosed (by a clinician) as having dry eye syndrome?"
  • (2) "Do you currently use artificial tear eyedrops or gel?"
  • (3) "For the past three months or longer, have you had dry eyes? (This is described as a foreign body sensation with itching and burning, sandy feeling, not related to allergy)."
• Normal ophthalmic findings except dry eye syndrome

Exclusion Criteria:

• Participation in a clinical trial in the 3 weeks preceding the study
• Symptoms of a clinically relevant illness in the 3 weeks before the first study day
• Wearing of contact lenses
• Intake of dietary supplements in the 3 months preceding the study
• History of glaucoma
• Treatment with corticosteroids in the 4 weeks preceding the study to topical treatment with any ophthalmic drug in the 4 weeks preceding the study (topical lubricants for patients with DES are allowed)
• Ocular infection or clinically significant inflammation
• Ocular surgery in the 3 months preceding the study
• Sjögren's syndrome
• Stevens-Johnson syndrome
• Pregnancy, planned pregnancy or lactating

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
85 healthy subjects with no history of DES
255 subjects with DES

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Tear Film Thickness (TFT) as measured with Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT)	1 month

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Tear Break Up Time	1 month
Schirmer 1 test	1 month
Corneal staining according to Oxford scale	1 month
Tear osmolarity	1 month
Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI)	1 month

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Medical University of Vienna

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): August 31, 2017
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 26, 2015
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 22, 2015
• First Posted (Estimated): October 23, 2015

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 23, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 20, 2025
• Last Verified: April 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Eye Diseases; Corneal Diseases; Lacrimal Apparatus Diseases; Keratoconjunctivitis; Conjunctivitis; Conjunctival Diseases; Keratitis; Dry Eye Syndromes; Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca
• Other Study ID Numbers: OPHT-070115