Efficacy of Different Treatment Regimens With Chitosan-N- Acetylcysteine in Moderate-to-severe Dry Eye Disease

Efficacy of Different Treatment Regimens With Chitosan-N- Acetylcysteine (Lacrimera®) in Moderate-to-severe Dry Eye Disease: A Pilot Study

Aim of this pilot study is to evaluate the best treatment regime of Chitosan-N-Acetylcysteine (Lacrimera®) compared to preservative-free, Hyaluronic-acid containing eyedrops (Hylo-Vision® sine).

The present pilot study seeks to investigate the best fitting treatment regime of moderate-to-severe DED with C-NAC compared to preservative-free, Hyaluronic-acid containing eyedrops (Hylo-Vision® sine) by applying a randomized, prospective, adaptive, controlled design.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age older than 22 years
• Corneal staining (marked to severe; NEI grading scale >=10)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Usage of eye drops other than lubricants (e.g. antibiotics, steroids, cyclosporin-A)
• Usage of systemic antibiotic therapy
• Any pathology of the ocular surface except dry eye disease (e.g. corneal scarring, cornea ectasia)
• Ocular surgery within prior 3 months to screening
• Preceding refractive corneal surgery (e.g. LASIK)
• Ocular injury within prior 3 months
• Ocular herpes of eye or eyelid within prior 3 months
• Active ocular infection
• Active ocular inflammation or history of chronic, recurrent ocular inflammation within prior 3 months
• Eyelid abnormalities that affect lid function
• Ocular surface abnormality that may compromise corneal integrity
• Pregnancy and nursing women (in women of childbearing age a pregnancy test will be performed before inclusion into the study)