Abstract : Purpose - To define the best methods of evaluating conjunctival inflammation in patients with ocular prostheses. Methods - The level of conjunctival inflammation and the patients' complaints were evaluated by several quantitative and qualitative methods : clinical grading, Schirmer's test, self-evaluation analogic scale of secretions, and a quality of life survey derived from the OSDI score (Ocular Surface Disease Index), initially designed for dry eye syndrome and modified to be relevant among this population. In order to test for consistency, the patients were re-evaluated for inflammation at the conclusion of 1 month of dexamethasone treatment, using the same methodology. The progression of each parameter under treatment was measured, searching for a correlation between improvement in the criteria and the patient's satisfaction. Results - Twenty five patients were evaluated. The Schirmer's test did not change significantly with treatment. The clinical inflammation grade decreased significantly with treatment (p<0.0001) but was not correlated with patient satisfaction (p=0.63). The modified OSDI score and the self-evaluation analogic scale of secretions were both significantly improved (p<0.0001) and correlated with patient satisfaction (p=0.0048 for the OSDI, p<0.0001 for the analog scale). Conclusion - In our study, the most relevant tools to evaluate treatment efficacy for conjunctival inflammation in prosthetic eye wearers were the modified OSDI score and the self-evaluation analogic scale of secretions. The clinical grading scale is probably a good indicator for the biological effect of a treatment on the conjunctiva but may be unrelated to the patient's symptoms.
