Caracterización de pacientes con enfermedad de ojo seco en una institución de referencia en la ciudad de Medellín, Colombia

Background: Dry eye disease has been defined by DEWS II as a multifactorial entity in which tear film homeostasis is altered. Objective: To characterize patients with dry eye disease evaluated in the dry eye unit of Clínica de Oftalmología Sandiego. Materials and methods: Observational, descriptive, retrospective cohort study. Information was collected from patients who consulted the dry eye unit in the period from March 2016 to December 2017 and who were diagnosed with dry eye disease. The results of qualitative and quantitative tests, as well as the dry eye symptoms questionnaire, were documented. Results: In 107 patients’ diagnosis of dry eye disease was confirmed, 86 patients (80.4%) were women. The median age was 53 years (38-69). Evaporative dry eye was present in 64.5%, aquodeficient 12.2% and mixed 23.4%. OSDI questionnaire score was above 33 in 67 patients (62.6%). Tear osmolarity was altered in 78.5%. Matrix metalloproteinase 9 was positive in 76.6%. Conclusion: Carrying out clinical and laboratory tests as well as the application of symptom questionnaires are useful in the diagnosis of dry eye. Furthermore, this comprehensive approach helps to classify the clinical subtype and recognize the frequency of associated risk factors