Autologous serum in the management of recalcitrant dry eye syndrome

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of long-term application of autologous serum eye drops treating recalcitrant dry eye syndrome. Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted of patients who had serum eye drops between May 2001 and March 2006. The clinical data collected included sex, age, indications for serum eye drops, frequency of lubricant eye drops use before and after serum eye drop treatment, Schirmer tear function test with anaesthesia, fluorescein staining at baseline and at follow up and changes in subjective symptoms. Results: There were 46 eyes of 23 patients (19 female and 4 male) in the study group. The average follow-up period was 17.3 months (range 6-55 months). Corneal fluorescein staining of 34 eyes (73.9%) showed improvement at follow up. Sixteen patients (32 eyes, 69.6%) reported a decreased frequency of lubricant use including eight patients (16 eyes, 34.8%) who used only serum eye drops for dry eye treatment. Eighteen patients (35 eyes, 76.1%) reported subjective improvement after using serum eye drops. No significant complications were reported in this study. Conclusion: Serum eye drops can be effective in treating recalcitrant dry eye syndrome and should be available as a management option when other treatments have failed. Meticulous attention must be paid to the possible contamination of the bottle to minimize the risk of infection.