Evaluation of Dry Eye Disease's Signs in Patients Who Were Administered Intravitreal Anti-VEGF Injections

Evaluation of Dry Eye Disease's Signs in Patients Who Were Administered Intravitreal Injections

The goal of this interventional, monocentric, prospective, single-masked, case-control study is to evaluate the efficacy of Thealoz Duo (artificial tear containing trehalose 3 g and hyaluronic acid 0.15 g) in comparison to a saline solution (Hydrabak containing Sodium Chloride 0,9 g, Sodium Dihydrogen Phosphate Dihydrate, Disodium Hydrogen Phosphate Dodecahydrate), to reduce the signs of ocular discomfort and ocular side effects in patients who have received Intravitreal injections.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

• can ocular instillation of Thealoz Duo solution, 1 week before intravitreal injection, in a fixed dose regimen, prevent ocular surface changes and dry-eye signs?
• can ocular instillation of Thealoz Duo solution, up 3 months after intravitreal injections, in a fixed dose regimen, reduce ocular surface changes, and dry-eye signs with improvement of quality of life and quality of vision?

Each participant will be randomized into each of two arms:

1. TREATMENT ARM: patients who will receive the instillation of Thealoz Duo, 10 ml, 1 drop, 4 times/day;
2. CONTROL ARM: patients who will receive the instillation of saline solution (Hydrabak), 10 ml, 1 drop, 4 times /day;

The decision of inclusion of a control group should minimize the risk of breaking the blinding condition by affecting the consistency and reliability of the outcome's achievement.

In any case, the instillation of saline solution should not alter the ocular surface.

Inclusion Criteria:

• patient with retinal disease who required anti-VEGF therapy via intravitreal injections;
• patient who has already received at least 2 anti-VEGF therapy via intravitreal injections in the study eye during the last 6 months before the baseline;
• Capable of giving signed informed consent, which includes compliance with the requirements and restrictions listed in the informed consent form (ICF) and in this protocol.

Exclusion Criteria:

• patient with naive retinal disease who has already received < 2 anti-VEGF therapy via intravitreal injections in the study eye;
• subjects with autoimmune pathologies involving the ocular surface (e.g.Sjögren's syndrome), dry eye syndrome, eyelid disease that can induce changes in ocular surface (e.g. entropion, ectropion, lagophthalmos, trichiasis, ptosis), with any other systemic disease that may confound the interpretation of study results.