Challenging the dry eye paradigm: Technicians measure things, clinicians do what's important - Thea Pharmaceuticals

CPD ref: C-108354 

Description

This session will critique the TFSO DEWS II mantra, with your support and input; as peers and perhaps future Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs), we should always question and challenge what we do. 

The session will concentrate on the two primary DEWS II flow diagrams to discuss concepts which, as a clinician rather than an academic, could be problematic. So we will look to answer a number of questions including: 

• Is ‘dry eye disease’ really a suitable moniker for what we deal with – is it an outcome or a disease?
• Importance of non-invasive tests?
• What is a ‘Lacrimal Functional Unit’ and should it be incorporated in a workable definition?
• What do you do if you have access to only a limited number of the homeostasis marker tests and these show negative results?
• Can an exhaustive work-up really be compartmentalized into a set of triaging questions, a minimal list of generic risk factors and three homeostatic markers?
• How serious are we about medication litanies and systemic health?

The last part will be the focus of a breakout discussion for delegates to consider in more detail.

Clinical practice

• Be able to reflect on your practice and seek to improve the quality of your work with patients that have ocular surface disease by appraising research and guidelines such as the TFOS DEWS II report, understanding the condition presenting to you, and implementing actions from these in care provided to patients (Standard 5.4)
• Understand how to conduct an adequate assessment for patients presenting with ocular surface symptoms, including where necessary any relevant medical, family, and social history of the patient, leading to an appropriate diagnosis and management plan (Standard 7.1).