Characteristics of Patients with Dry Eye Who Switched from Long-Acting Ophthalmic Solution to Diquafosol Ophthalmic Solution

TL;DR

Some dry eye patients switched from a less frequent eye drop to a more frequent one due to texture preferences, but the less frequent option showed better results in symptoms and eye health.

Contribution

This study identifies patient preferences and outcomes when switching between two formulations of diquafosol for dry eye treatment.

Findings

Patients switching from DQSLX to DQS experienced worsened subjective symptoms and objective measures of dry eye.

21.6% of patients preferred DQS due to its better sensation despite worsening clinical outcomes.

DQSLX showed better improvement in tear break-up time and fluorescein staining compared to DQS.

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Long-acting (extended) diquafosol ophthalmic solution 3% (DQSLX) is administered less frequently (three times daily) than diquafosol ophthalmic solution (DQS) (six times daily). However, some patients do not prefer DQSLX because of perceived stickiness. We investigated the subjective and objective characteristics of patients with dry eye who switched from using DQSLX to DQS. Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 51 patients (11 men and 40 women) whose eye drop prescription was changed from DQSLX to DQS between June 2024 and September 2024. Subjective symptoms, tear break-up time, and fluorescein-staining scores were evaluated from baseline to 4 weeks after DQS use. We asked the participants to choose between DQS and DQSLX 4 weeks after using DQS. Results: In total, 51 eyes of 51 patients (11 men and 40 women; mean age: 68.2 ± 14.7 years) were enrolled. The DQS group showed significant worsening of the subjective symptoms, tear break-up time, and fluorescein staining scores (20.8 ± 22.5, 5.2 ± 3.4, and 1.6 ± 2.0, respectively) relative to the baseline (15.9 ± 18.7, 6.3 ± 3.2, and 0.7 ± 1.4, respectively) (p = 0.003, p < 0.001, and <0.001, respectively). Eleven (21.6%) patients expressed their preference for continuing DQS because of the good sensation of the eye drops. An analysis of the group that preferred the DQS ophthalmic solution revealed no significant changes in subjective symptoms or fluorescein staining scores after DQS treatment. Conclusions: DQSLX improved the subjective symptoms and objective findings of patients with dry eye relative to DQS.