The effect of tea tree oil on dry eye treatment after phacoemulsification cataract surgery: A randomized clinical trial

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of eyelid scrubbing with eye shampoo containing tea tree oil on dry eye disease following phacoemulsification cataract surgery. Methods: This prospective triple-blinded randomized clinical trial was performed on 62 eyes of 62 patients. Patients were randomly assigned to two groups—(1) treatment group: for 33 patients in the treatment group, artificial tears, topical steroid drops, and eye shampoos with tea tree oil and (2) for 29 patients in the control group, artificial tears, topical steroids, and eye shampoos without tea tree oil were used. In the first and second (after 1 month) follow-up visits, microscopic Demodex examination, refraction, corrected distance visual acuity, the ocular surface disease index score (by the questionnaire), Schirmer test, tear break-up time test, and osmolarity of tears (by TearLab) were recorded in treatment and control groups. Results: The mean age of patients was 66.37 ± 8.83 (range: 37–82) years, of which 49 (79%) were female and 13 (21%) were male. The results showed a significant improvement in tear break-up time test, corrected distance visual acuity, osmolarity, and ocular surface disease index score in both groups ( p < 0.05). However, the number of Demodex decreases significantly only in the treatment group after treatment ( p <0.001). Tear break-up time, osmolarity, and ocular surface disease index scores in the treatment group were significantly better than the control group ( p < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference between the two groups in the pre- and post-Schirmer test results ( p > 0.05). Conclusion: Eyelid scrubbing with eye shampoo containing tea tree oil is recommended for dry eye treatment after cataract surgery, especially decrease in the number of Demodex.

Cataract surgery and dry eye disease: A review

“…Tea tree oil has antimicrobial properties and has been used in the treatment of MGD, where there can be a buildup of demodex on the eyelids. [140][141][142] A RCT by Mohammadpour et al 143 showed that compared to controls, scrubbing the eyelids with a shampoo containing tree oil after phacoemulsifiaction cataract surgery led to better OSDI scores, tear osmolarity and TBUT scores, as well as lower counts of eyelid demodex.…”

Sodium hyaluronate in the treatment of dry eye after cataract surgery: a meta-analysis

“…Local anesthesia and preservatives with local eye drops can also cause ocular surface discomfort after surgery. All these factors contribute to the high incidence of dry eye after a cataract surgery (2). Dry eye brings inconvenience to the patients and lowers their quality of life, and is not conducive to postoperative recovery.…”

In vitro evaluation of commercial foam Belcils® on Acanthamoeba spp

“…( Reyes-Batlle et al, 2019 ). This action could be results of the presence of Tea tree oil (TTA); in fact, for its antiseptic effect against bacteria, fungi and viruses, this component has been widely used in many eye cleanser and eyelid shampoo ( Mohammadpour et al, 2019 ). The IC 50 of the eye cleanser Belcils® were much lower than the IC 50 obtained for Naviblef® Daily Care for all the tested Acanthamoeba strains.…”