Vol. 7, Issue 1, Part A (2025)

Background: The severe dry eye disease (DED) represents a widespread condition which combines persistent eye discomfort with impaired tear film functionality. The management of DED can be achieved through artificial tears and autologous serum eye drops as potential treatment solutions. The exact effectiveness between these two treatments has not been established.
Aims This study compared Artificial Tears (Group A) with Autologous Serum Eye Drops (Group B) for treating severe DED during twelve weeks.
Methods: The research study included 300 patients with severe DED who received participation at Tikrit Teaching Hospital in Iraq. The research study divided 150 patients into the Artificial Tears group and 150 patients into the Autologous Serum Eye Drops group. Patients received their assigned treatment three times daily for twelve weeks during the study period. The research study evaluated treatment effectiveness by using OSDI and VAS scores for symptom assessment and tear film stability tests including TBUT and Schirmer test and ocular surface integrity evaluation through fluorescein staining and adverse effect assessment.
Results Group B achieved superior symptom relief than Group A based on OSDI and VAS scores which showed lower values (p<0.01). The objective tests of TBUT and Schirmer test showed better results in Group B than in Group A (p<0.05). Group B showed superior ocular surface healing based on fluorescein staining scores (p<0.01). Patients tolerated the treatments well because they experienced minimal adverse effects.
Conclusion: Autologous serum eye drops proved superior to artificial tears because they delivered superior symptom relief and improved tear film stability and ocular surface healing for patients with severe DED. The treatment of refractory DED should include autologous serum eye drops as a viable option.