Assessment of tear osmolarity parameters in patients with Sjögren's syndrome at the Vision Centre between 2020 and 2023

Abstract

Objective: To determine tear osmolarity values in patients with Sjögren's dry eye syndrome at the Vision Centre between 2020 and 2023. Methodology: A retrospective, non-experimental, quantitative study was conducted based on the medical records of patients with Sjögren's syndrome obtained from Salutem. From a sample of 16 patients, the Ocular Surface Disease Index scores and tear osmolarity per eye were analysed. With regard to ethical aspects, approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the Vision Centre. Results: A mean osmolarity of 306.61 mOsm/L was obtained, which corresponds to a mild alteration. Regarding the Schirmer test, a large variation was found among patients, with a mean of 10.25 ± 9.93 mm. Most patients had an altered Ocular Surface Disease Index score (81.25%). Discussion: Tear osmolarity was found to be increased and positively correlated with the Ocular Surface Disease Index score, both of which were abnormal in the study group. A negative correlation with the Schirmer I test was also found, although it was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Osmolarity values were found to be above normal in patients with Sjögren's syndrome, corroborating the hypothesis of this study. However, a larger sample size is estimated to be required to determine and predictively correlate osmolarity values in the population with Sjögren's syndrome.