The Relationship Between Dry Eye Symptoms and Lipid Layer Thickness

Abstract

(1) The data indicate that approximately 3 of 4 patients reporting severe symptoms have relatively thin lipid layers of 60 nm or less, whereas approximately 3 of 4 patients without symptoms have relatively thick lipid layers of 75 nm or more. Thus, the presence of dry eye symptoms significantly increases the likelihood of a relatively thin lipid layer. LLT seems to correlate better to symptoms, especially severe symptoms, than other reported correlations with objective clinical tests for dry eye disease. (2) Interferometry has the potential to be a practical and useful addition to clinical practice.