Acupuncture and dry eye: current perspectives. A double-blinded randomized controlled trial and review of the literature

Deepinder K Dhaliwal,1 Siwei Zhou,1 Sandeep S Samudre,2 Nathan J Lo,3 Michelle K Rhee41Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; 2Department of Ophthalmology, Eastern Virginia Eye Institute, Norfolk, VA, USA; 3Department of Medicine, Duke University Hospital, Durham, NC, USA; 4Department of Ophthalmology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USAPurpose: Dry eye disease (DED) is a common disorder that negatively impacts quality of life and vision. Prior studies have shown some benefit of acupuncture for dry eye, but very few have included control group to mitigate placebo effect. This study was designed with a sham acupuncture control group to evaluate true acupuncture treatment effect.Methods: This is a prospective, randomized, double-blinded, sham-acupuncture-controlled trial. Acupuncture treatment for dry eye was performed as per the Niemtzow Protocol. Twenty-four patients received true acupuncture and twenty-five received sham acupuncture. Treatment efficacy was assessed by the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) Questionnaire, ocular surface staining, tear flow, tear film break-up time (TBUT), and a general questionnaire. Atmospheric data were collected to control for the effect of atmospheric conditions on symptoms of dry eye.Results: OSDI scores in the treatment group improved compared to baseline (1 week, p