Dry Eye Disease as a Cause of Refractive Errors After Cataract Surgery – A Systematic Review

Abstract

Katarzyna Biela,1,2,* Mateusz Winiarczyk,1,* Dorota Borowicz,2,* Jerzy Mackiewicz1,* 1Department of Vitreoretinal Surgery, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, 20079, Poland; 2Department of Ophthalmology, Provincial Hospital in Zamosc, al. John Paul II 10, Zamosc, 22400, Poland*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Katarzyna Biela, Provincial Hospital in Zamosc, al. John Paul II 10, Zamosc, 22400, Poland, Email [email protected]: Dry eye disease (DED) is a multifactorial ocular surface disorder characterized by loss of tear film homeostasis with associated ocular symptoms, like dryness, foreign body sensation, and inflammation. Numerous reports confirm an increase in dry eye symptoms after cataract surgery. DED also significantly disturbs preoperative biometric measurements, mainly by changes in keratometry measurements. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of DED on biometric measurements before cataract surgery and postoperative refractive errors. PubMed database was searched for keywords: cataract surgery, dry eye disease, refractive error, refractive outcomes, keratometry, and biometry. Four clinical studies evaluating the effect of DED on refractive errors were included. In all studies, biometry was performed before and after dry eye treatment, and the mean absolute error was compared. Various substances have been used to treat dry eye, such as cyclosporin A, liftitegrast, and loteprednol. The refractive error was significantly lower after treatment in all studies. The results unanimously indicate that refractive errors can be reduced by proper treatment of DED before cataract surgery.Keywords: dry eye disease, cataract surgery, refractive error, refractive outcome, biometry

Keywords

• dry eye disease
• cataract surgery
• refractive error
• refractive outcome
• biometry