Patient-reported outcomes should be used in clinical trials on ocular surface disease

Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) can be valuable in assessing the impact of dry eye symptoms (DES) on daily life, according to a study.

In the study, a web-based group concept mapping approach was used with 3 stages: statement generation, thematic sorting, and rating of statements for importance and relevance. The research involved 39 participants from patient support groups in the UK.

The results of the study found 6 thematic clusters related to DES: Environmental Impacts, Pain and Discomfort, Eye Treatments, Daily Impact, Psychosocial Issues, and Miscellaneous. Among these clusters, Environmental Impacts scored the highest for importance, followed closely by Pain and Discomfort and Eye Treatments.

The group concept mapping process also identified several important issues that were not covered adequately by existing PRO measures, including the impact of UV levels, hot dry weather, temporal aspects of pain, and issues with night-driving.

In conclusion, the study suggests that additional PRO items should be considered for use in clinical trials to better capture the important issues experienced by individuals living with dry eye symptoms. This finding emphasizes the importance of incorporating patient perspectives when assessing the impact of health conditions on daily life.

Reference
Slade AL, Recchioni A, Aiyegbusi OL, et al. Identifying patient-valued outcomes for use in early phase trials of ocular surface disease interventions. Ocul Surf. 2023;S1542-0124(23)00091-5. doi: 10.1016/j.jtos.2023.07.005. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37467894.