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Purpose. To study the influence of personal protective equipment (PPE) of the respiratory and visual systems on the development and progression of dry eye syndrome (DES) and its relationship with other risk factors for medical workers.Patients and methods. The data of 243 people (male — 22.2 %, female — 77.8 %) were analyzed as part of a multi-center analytical scientific one-step study. Total tear production (Schirmer I test) was studied at the beginning and the end of the working day in persons used PPE of respiratory system (disposable medical face mask, gauze masks or different types of respirators), as well as PPE of the eyes (protective half-closed/closed glasses or protective screens). Risk factors for the development and progression of DES were registered (age, smoking, systemic hormones intake, soft contact lenses), as well as the use of artificial tears.Results. A decrease in the Schirmer I test score at the end of a 7–8 hour work shift was found by an average of 3 mm (from 13 (9; 16) mm to 10 (6; 15) mm, p < 0.001). Statistically significant changes were typical mainly for medical personnel (p < 0.001) with the maximum severity in persons working in outpatient sector. The presence of at least one DES risk factor was found in 30.5 % of patients, two factors — in 3.0 %, and three or more — in 7.0 %. There was no influence of risk factors on the degree of changes in total tear production. Reduced tear production is typical for some PPE of respiratory system (disposable masks and respirators) and the eye (screens and half-closed glasses) (p < 0.001). In people who do not use PPE of the eye, significant changes were detected only in the presence of risk factors.Conclusion. The negative influence of various PPE of the respiratory system and eye on the total tear production was established. The decrease in the results of the Schirmer I test by the end of the working day was 20–25 % of the basic level, regardless of the presence of traditional risk factors for DES. The severity of changes depended on the type of PPE used. The data obtained are particularly relevant during the new COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic and justify the need to establish specific prophylactic measures. One of the possible methods is the preventive use of artificial tears.

Purpose: to set out morphofunctional differences in the ophthalmic status between suspected glaucoma (SG) and the initial stage of primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), determine the values of interocular asymmetry of the analyzed parameters of fellow eyes and create a model able to distinguish, with high accuracy, between healthy subjects, SG patients and POAG patients relying on a few independent parameters. Material and methods. A multicenter study performed between July and November, 2016, by 34 research and clinical facilities of four countries (Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, and Moldova) involved 501 patients (824 eyes), of which 362 (72 %) were female and 139 (28 %) male. The main analyzed group consisted of 128 eyes with SG, 228 eyes with early stage POAG and 145 eyes of healthy subjects (the control group with comparable sex and age distribution and no history of glaucoma). The fellow-eye symmetry analysis group involved 190 eyes with SG, 336 eyes with early stage POAG and 220 eyes of 110 subjects with no glaucoma. Results. Differences were found in the structural and functional ophthalmologic parameters in early-stage POAG, SG, and the absence of glaucoma. The precision of SG and early POAG may be increased by cumulative consideration of several clinical parameters. Conclusions. The sensitivity and specificity of the integral index of condition prognostication increases when several parameters are analyzed simultaneously, as compared to the separate analysis of constituents. For citations: Avdeev R.V., Alexandrov A.S., Arapiev M.U., et al. Suspected glaucoma and early stage glaucoma: differential diagnostic criteria. Russian ophthalmological journal. 2017; 10 (4): 5-15. doi: 10.21516/2072-0076-2017-10-4-5-15 (In Russian).