Comparison of a single-dose vectored thermal pulsation procedure with a 3-month course of daily oral doxycycline for moderate-to-severe meibomian gland dysfunction

Figures & data

Table 1 Baseline data of the two treatment groups

Variables	N (eyes)	Doxycycline group (mean ± SD)	N (eyes)	LipiFlow group (mean ± SD)	p-value
Age (years)	12*	50.4±14.4	13*	51.7±15.6	0.841
LLT (µm)	24	67.58±21.85	26	73.19±18.42	0.330
MGYLS	24	4.63±1.41	26	4.00±1.47	0.133
TBUT (seconds)	24	6.90±2.56	26	6.26±2.01	0.329
SPEED score	12*	13.42±4.17	12*	11.00±3.30	0.130
CF staining	24	0.21±0.41	26	0.38±0.50	0.179
CLG staining	24	2.38±1.88	26	1.69±1.93	0.119

Note:

* The number of patients.

Abbreviations: CF, corneal fluorescein; CLG, conjunctival lissamine green; LLT, lipid layer thickness; MGYLS, meibomian glands yielding liquid secretion; SPEED, Standard Patient Evaluation for Eye Dryness; TBUT, tear breakup time.

Figure 1 The mean SPEED scores at baseline and 3 months post treatment for the doxycycline and LipiFlow groups.

Notes: After 3 months, SPEED scores were significantly improved from their baseline values in both the groups (p<0.005). The mean SPEED scores of the LipiFlow group were significantly better than the doxycycline group at 3 months (p=0.030; error bars represent SD).
Abbreviation: SPEED, Standard Patient Evaluation for Eye Dryness.

Figure 2 The mean MGYLS scores at baseline and 3 months post treatment for the doxycycline and LipiFlow groups.

Notes: At 3 months post treatment, both the groups demonstrated significant improvement in MGYLS scores from their baseline values (p<0.005). No statistically significant difference in the mean MGYLS scores was observed between the two study groups at 3 months (p=0.096; error bars represent SD).
Abbreviation: MGYLS, meibomian glands yielding liquid secretion.

Figure 3 The mean TBUT at baseline and 3 months post treatment for the doxycycline and LipiFlow groups.

Notes: Compared to the baseline, TBUT was significantly improved in the VTP group at 3 months post treatment (p=0.001); however, the improvement was not statistically significant in the doxycycline group (p=0.262). There was no significant difference in the mean TBUT values of the two groups at 3 months (p=0.155; error bars represent SD).
Abbreviations: TBUT, tear breakup time; VTP, vectored thermal pulsation.