Fluorophotometric measurement of human tear turnover rate.

Measurement of tear turnover rate using an automated scanning fluorophotometer (FluorotronR) was compared to Schirmer test results without anesthesia in young adults with no known ocular disorder. After the instillation of fluorescein, tear film fluorescence, expressed as fluorescein concentration equivalent, decreased exponentially in a linear fashion with time. The mean tear turnover rate was 30% per minute. Contact lens wearers had higher mean tear turnover rates when compared with non-contact lens wearers, but differences were not statistically significant. Half of tested eyes demonstrated total wetting of Schirmer Tear Test StripsR. Higher mean tear turnover rates were associated with complete wetting of the Schirmer test strips. There was no significant correlation between Schirmer paper wetting of less than 30 mm and fluorescein turnover rate.

[1]  J. Baum,et al.  Basic tear flow. Does it exist? , 1980, Ophthalmology.

[2]  J. C. Wright,et al.  A review of the Schirmer test for tear production. , 1962, Archives of ophthalmology.

[3]  R. Brubaker,et al.  Basal precorneal tear turnover in the human eye. , 1980, American journal of ophthalmology.

[4]  J. Prause,et al.  TEAR ABSORPTION INTO THE FILTER‐PAPER STRIP USED IN THE SCHIRMER‐I‐TEST , 1982, Acta ophthalmologica.

[5]  H. Kolder,et al.  Artificial eyes and tear measurements. , 1980, Ophthalmology.

[6]  N. Yanagihara,et al.  A modified Schirmer test: the fine-thread method for measuring lacrimation. , 1977, Journal of pediatric ophthalmology.

[7]  P. Wright.  Normal tear production and drainage. , 1985, Transactions of the ophthalmological societies of the United Kingdom.

[8]  B. Milder,et al.  Lacrimal drainage function. 1. The Jones fluorescein test. , 1972, American journal of ophthalmology.

[9]  S. Klyce,et al.  Determination of tear volume and tear flow. , 1966, Investigative ophthalmology.

[10]  A. Tomlinson,et al.  HUMAN TEAR VOLUME, QUALITY AND EVAPORATION: A COMPARISON OF SCHIRMER, TEAR BREAK‐UP TIME AND RESISTANCE HYGROMETRY TECHNIQUES , 1983, Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians.

[11]  M. Norn.  LACRIMAL APPARATUS TESTS , 1965, Acta ophthalmologica.

[12]  P R Laibson,et al.  Schirmer's test. A closer look. , 1983, Archives of ophthalmology.

[13]  F. Feldman,et al.  Evaluation of the Schirmer tear test. , 1979, Canadian journal of ophthalmology. Journal canadien d'ophtalmologie.

[14]  M. Norn.  CONJUNCTIVAL SENSITIVITY IN NORMAL EYES , 1973, Acta ophthalmologica.

[15]  O. P. Bijsterveld,et al.  Diagnostic Tests in the Sicca Syndrome , 1969 .

[16]  C. Berens,et al.  Standardized Schirmer tear test kit. , 1961, American journal of ophthalmology.

[17]  D. Maurice.  A new objective fluorophotometer. , 1963, Experimental eye research.

[18]  L S Mengher,et al.  Effect of fluorescein instillation on the pre-corneal tear film stability. , 1985, Current eye research.

[19]  W. Rodney,et al.  Schirmer's test of lacrimation. , 1981, American family physician.

[20]  H. Hamano,et al.  A new method for measuring tears. , 1983, The CLAO journal : official publication of the Contact Lens Association of Ophthalmologists, Inc.

[21]  E. Hawkins,et al.  Inconsistency in Schirmer tear test strips. , 1985, Archives of ophthalmology.

[22]  B. Milder,et al.  Lacrimal drainage function. 2. The fluorescein dye disappearance test. , 1972, American journal of ophthalmology.

[23]  A. J. Bron,et al.  Effect of meibomian oils on Schirmer tear test , 1985, Acta ophthalmologica.

[24]  F. Holly,et al.  Kinetics of lacrimal secretion in normal human subjects , 1984 .

[25]  R. Brubaker,et al.  Use of a xenon flash tube as the excitation source in a new slit-lamp fluorophotometer. , 1978, American journal of ophthalmology.

[26]  C. Foster,et al.  Schirmer test after topical anesthesia and the tear meniscus height in normal eyes. , 1979, Archives of ophthalmology.

[27]  S. Patel,et al.  Effects of Fluorescein on Tear Breakup Time and on Tear Thinning Time , 1985, American journal of optometry and physiological optics.

[28]  L. T. Jones.  The lacrimal secretory system and its treatment. , 1966, Journal of the All-India Ophthalmological Society.

[29]  M. Bergmann,et al.  The effect of a diuretic (hydrochlorothiazide) on tear production in humans. , 1985, American journal of ophthalmology.

[30]  J. W. Henderson,et al.  Influence of age and sex on flow of tears. , 1950, Archives of ophthalmology.