Refrigerating cyclosporine A helps to ease instillation discomfort

A new study has suggested that chilling 0.09% cyclosporine A solution could help to ease the discomfort of instillation among dry eye disease patients.

The research, which was published in Optometry and Vision Science, highlighted that using topical cyclosporine Afor the treatment of dry eye disease is often associated with instillation discomfort.

The University of Waterloo scientists added that this can reduce adherence to a treatment plan for dry eye disease.

To address this problem, the authors explored whether refrigeration before the solution is instilled could help to reduce discomfort.

A group of 40 study participants with symptomatic aqueous deficient dry eye instilled one drop of chilled (4°C) 0.09% cyclosporine A solution in one eye and a drop of room temperature (23°C) solution in the other eye.

Patients rated the discomfort in each eye before instillation, immediately after instillation, and at each subsequent minute following instillation for 10 minutes.

Around 60% of participants reported that chilled instillation of the solution resulted in less discomfort than room temperature instillation.

Within this group, cumulative discomfort associated with the chilled solution was significantly lower than cumulative discomfort associated with the room temperature solution.

The scientists concluded that refrigerating cyclosporine A solution prior to instillation may improve patient experience when using the solution to manage dry eye disease.