Tear osmolarity after cataract surgery

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the changes in tear film osmolarity and Schirmer I test after cataract surgery. Methods: This single-center, prospective study included patients with no subjective complaints about dry eye disease. Patients with the following conditions were excluded: contact lens wearers, patients with diabetes, pseudoexfoliation, pterygia, and eye drops users. The eye that had not undergone surgery was considered the control group. Tear osmolarity and Schirmer I test were evaluated before surgery and during the first postoperative month. Results: Thirty-seven patients were enrolled in the study. Before surgery, tear osmolarity was 301.2 ± 15.09 Osm/L in the study group and 302.3 ± 14.21 mOsm/L in the control group (P = 0.2), while Schirmer I test averaged 13.4 ± 10.50 mm in the study group and 13.7 ± 10.79 mm in the control group (P = 0.6). The next morning, the tear osmolarity decreased to 0.05). Conclusions: The tear osmolarity results increased to the dry eye disease level in the first postoperative week. Over the course of one month, the difference in tear osmolarity and Schirmer I test values for the study and control groups leveled off. Keywords: Tear osmolarity, Cataract surgery, Schirmer I test, Postoperative period