Comparative Evaluation of Silicone Hydrogel Contact Lenses and Autologous Serum for Management of Sjögren Syndrome-Associated Dry Eye

PURPOSE:To comparatively evaluate the efficacy of a bandage contact lens (BCL) and autologous serum (AS) eye drops in the management of severe dry eye caused by Sjögren syndrome (SS). METHODS:In this prospective randomized study, 40 patients with SS were enrolled. Patients were divided into 2 treatment groupsBCL and AS. RESULTS:A total of 37 patients were included, 18 patients (35 eyes) in the AS group and 19 patients (36 eyes) in the BCL group. At the end of 6 weeks, the best-corrected visual acuity improved significantly in the BCL group (0.5 ± 0.3 vs. 0.3 ± 0.2, P = 0.003) but not in the AS group (0.4 ± 0.3 vs. 0.3 ± 0.3, P = 0.11). The best-corrected visual acuity remained stable up to 6 weeks after discontinuation of the BCL (0.5 ± 0.3 vs. 0.4 ± 0.2, P = 0.03). Although the Ocular Surface Disease Index scores decreased significantly after treatment in both groups, patients in the BCL group had lower Ocular Surface Disease Index scores than those in the AS group (53.4 vs. 41.8 at week 3, 47.1 vs. 31.0 at week 6, 52.7 vs. 32.0 at week 12; P = 0.014,