Oral Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation for Laser In Situ Keratomileusis-Associated Dry Eye

Purpose: To determine the effect of oral omega-3 fatty acid (v3FA) supplementation in laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK)associated dry eye. Methods: In this prospective, open-label study, patients undergoing LASIK were randomized to receive either 1.2 g/d of a triglyceride formulation of oral v3FA (treatment group) or 400 mg/d vitamin E (control group) for 1 week before and continued for 12 weeks after surgery. Ocular surface disease index, tear breakup time, ocular surface staining, and Schirmer scores were evaluated and compared preoperatively and at 3 months after LASIK. Results: The study included 30 patients in each group. All parameters were comparable at baseline. Ocular surface disease index scores increased comparably in both groups (1.9 +/- 0.6 increase in the treatment group; 2.8 +/- 0.5 in the control group) (P = 0.267). Compared with baseline levels, tear breakup time decreased significantly (P < 0.01) but comparably in both treatment (22.3 +/- 0.4 seconds decrease) and control (23.5 +/- 0.7 seconds decrease) groups (P = 0.105). More eyes in the control group (43.4%) had conjunctival staining with Lissamine green at 3 months compared with the treatment group (14%) (P = 0.009). The Schirmer score at 3 months was higher (P = 0.003) in the treatment group (30.5 +/- 0.90 mm) than in the control group (25.7 +/- 1.3 mm) with a increase of 5.9 +/- 1.3 mm from baseline in the treatment group and a decrease of 1.5 +/- 1.2 mm in the control group. Conclusions: Supplementation with v3FA in patients undergoing LASIK had a positive influence on tear secretion, whereas tear film stability remained unaffected when compared with the control group.