Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Diabetes. Jun 15, 2024; 15(6): 1234-1241
Published online Jun 15, 2024. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v15.i6.1234
Efficacy of recombinant human epidermal growth factor plus sodium hyaluronate eye drops in diabetic dry eye post-cataract surgery
Jun-Ling Li, Jin Zhao, Zhen-Feng Guo, Chang Xiao, Xuan Liu
Jun-Ling Li, Zhen-Feng Guo, Chang Xiao, Department of Ophthalmology, Tianjin Beichen Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nankai University, Tianjin 300400, China
Jin Zhao, Xuan Liu, Department of Ophthalmology, Xianyang First People’s Hospital, Xianyang 712000, Shaanxi Province, China
Co-first authors: Jun-Ling Li and Jin Zhao.
Author contributions: Li JL and Zhao J designed the research and wrote the first manuscript; Li JL, Zhao J, Guo ZF, Xiao C and Liu X contributed to conceiving the research and analyzing data; Li JL, Zhao J and Liu X conducted the analysis and provided guidance for the research; all authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript. Li JL and Zhao J contributed equally to this work and are co-first authors.
Supported by Tianjin Health Research Project, No. TJWJ2023MS062.
Institutional review board statement: This study was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of Tianjin Beichen Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Nankai University.
Informed consent statement: Patients were not required to give informed consent to the study because the analysis used anonymous clinical data that were obtained after each patient agreed to treatment by written consent.
Conflict-of-interest statement: There is no conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: All data and materials are available from the corresponding author.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Xuan Liu, MM, Doctor, Department of Ophthalmology, Xianyang First People’s Hospital, No. 10 Biyuan Road, Qindu District, Xianyang 712000, Shaanxi Province, China. lx641131366@126.com
Received: January 19, 2024
Revised: March 5, 2024
Accepted: April 17, 2024
Published online: June 15, 2024
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Dry eye syndrome (DES) after diabetic cataract surgery can seriously affect the patient’s quality of life. Therefore, effective alleviation of symptoms in patients with this disease has important clinical significance.

AIM

To explore the clinical effect of recombinant human epidermal growth factor (rhEGF) plus sodium hyaluronate (SH) eye drops on DES after cataract surgery in patients with diabetes.

METHODS

We retrospectively evaluated 82 patients with diabetes who experienced DES after cataract surgery at Tianjin Beichen Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Nankai University between April 2021 and April 2023. They were classified into an observation group (42 cases, rhEGF + SH eye drops) and a control group (40 cases, SH eye drops alone), depending on the different treatment schemes. The thera-peutic efficacy, dry eye symptom score, tear film breakup time (TFBUT), basic tear secretion score [assessed using Schirmer I test (SIt)], corneal fluorescein staining (FL) score, tear inflammatory markers, adverse reactions during treatment, and treatment satisfaction were compared between the two groups.

RESULTS

Therapeutic efficacy was higher in the observation group compared with the control group. Both groups showed improved TFBUT and dry eye, as well as improved SIt and FL scores after treatment, with a more pronounced improvement in the observation group. Although no marked differences in adverse reactions were observed between the two groups, treatment satisfaction was higher in the observation group.

CONCLUSION

rhEGF + SH eye drops rendered clinical benefits to patients by effectively ameliorating dry eye and visual impairment with favorable efficacy, fewer adverse reactions, and high safety levels. Thus, this treatment should be promoted in clinical practice.

Keywords: Recombinant human epidermal growth factor, Sodium hyaluronate eye drops, Diabetic patients, Dry eye syndrome after cataract surgery, Therapeutic efficacy

Core Tip: Cataracts are a common clinical blinding eye disease with a high incidence among the older population. Phacoemulsification followed by intraocular lens implantation is currently the mainstream surgical method for treating cataracts and restoring visual function. However, patients with diabetes often have a higher incidence of dry eye syndrome (DES) after cataract surgery compared with nondiabetic patients because of factors such as less basic tear secretion and poor tear film stability, which seriously affect the patient’s quality of life. Therefore, the effective improvement of DES after cataract surgery in these patients is of great clinical significance. Considering the specific clinical application scenarios, the effect of recombinant human epidermal growth factor combined with sodium hyaluronate eye drops on DES in patients with diabetes after cataract surgery warrants exploration.