The Effectiveness Of Plugging The Inferior Puncta.

The purpose of this study was to show the effectiveness of plugging the inferior puncta of ten keratoconjunctivitis sicca patients. Success was measured by either decreasing the patient's subjective symptoms or decreasing the objective clinical signs. The results show that both were decreased. Eight of the ten patients said that their eyes felt "wetter" after wearing the plugs for a week. However, since this study did not have a control group, subjective results may be biased by the placebo effect. Only three of the ten patients were able to decrease their use of artificial tears. This indicates that even with puncta! plugs, tear supplements may be needed. Objectively, eight of the ten patients showed a decrease in the rose bengal staining of the bulbar conjunctiva. Overall, every patient had some improvement in objective signs.