OBJECTIVES

Dry eye disease (DED) is a chronic multi-factorial disease of the ocular surface. It can greatly affect a patient’s quality of life and ability to perform daily activities. This study assessed the burden of DED and treatment experience with lifitegrast.

METHODS

An online cross-sectional survey with adults ≥18 years with DED who were current or recent lifitegrast users at the time of the survey was conducted in the United States (n=450) and Canada (n=300). Data collected between March-May 2020 included patient demographics, DED treatment information and impact on daily life.

RESULTS

Mean age of patients was 40.5 years with 83% ≤50 years and 78% were in full-time employment. Patients with DED reported ocular pain as being a common symptom along with dryness and tired eyes. DED symptoms negatively impacted patient’s quality of life, daily activities (especially reading and driving), mood and ability to work. The impact of symptoms directly correlated with disease severity with 79% of patients with severe DED reporting that it had an extreme impact on their quality of life. Data showed there was no consistent treatment algorithm prior to lifitegrast use, with multiple therapy combinations existing at each line of treatment. Mean time on lifitegrast was 17 months while 57% of patients used lifitegrast for 1 year or longer and 20% of patients for over 2 years. Among respondents, 73% reported they were very satisfied with lifitegrast driven by improvements in vision, ability to engage in social activities, their physicians’ opinion of improvement, and reduced dependence on friends/relatives.

CONCLUSIONS

This study confirmed DED has a high impact on patients’ overall quality of life and daily living. The study also demonstrated there is very high level of satisfaction among lifitegrast users and they tend to remain on the treatment.