Description of demographic and tear film status among pre-operative corneal refractive surgery in a Johor Bahru refractive eye surgery centre, Malaysia

• Main Authors: Syed Ahmad Helmi, Sharifah Ruqayyah, Ithnin, Mohd. Hafidz
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: RE Ophthalmology
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/102345/1/102345_Description%20of%20demographic%20and%20tear%20film%20status.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/102345/; http://iiumedic.net/mrs/materials/
• Institution: Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia

Introduction: This study was done to evaluate demographic and tear film status of pre-operative patients undergoing two types of corneal refractive surgery at Laser Focus, Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Method: A retrospective study of pre-operative records of 50 patients (100 eyes) who had undergone transepithelial photorefractive keratectomy (TransPRK) and laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) were analysed, including: their demographic data, myopic spherical equivalent refraction (myopic SER), tear meniscus height (TMH), average non-contact tear break-up time (NIKBUT), tear interferometry and meibomian gland grading. The recorded data was then described by frequency and compared for statistical significance by Chi-squared test. Results: The highest frequency of patients was from 30-34 years old, representing 40% of patients, with mean of 28.9 ± 5.22 years old. 62% of the patients are female, and 59% of the patients had undergone TransPRK, while the remaining was LASIK with microkeratome. Mean myopic SER preoperatively were -5.13D ± 2.18D. Mean adjusted TMH for the patients who came to the clinic was 0.20mm ± 0.05mm, while mean average NIKBUT of patients were 9.53 ± 4.19 seconds. 68% of the patients‘ eyes interferometry pattern was pearl, followed by Jupiter (25%) and crystal (7%). Most of the patients’ eyes had grade 1 meibomian gland dropout (45% of the total eyes). Conclusion: Female and those who are in working age population especially on 30 to 34 years old dominates the market of the refractive surgery. The majority of having tear instability might lead to the decision on suitability of refractive surgery and the important selection of best possible care in post-surgery for these patients, in order to ensure comfort and long-term preservation of optimum eye health.