Acupuncture compared with 0.5% carboxymethyl cellulose for improving Schirmer i test and OSDI scores for treating dry eye in menopausal women

Dry eye is the most common condition reported by patients who seek ophthalmologic care and by menopausal women. Acupuncture can help improve symptoms of dry eye. Therefore, in the present study, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture compared with 0.5% carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) in improving Schirmer I test and Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) scores and treating dry eye in menopausal women. The study consisted of 69 menopausal women with dry eye divided into a 0.5% CMC group, a group given acupuncture once (1× acupuncture group), and a group given acupuncture twice (2× acupuncture group). In the 0.5% CMC group, patients were given one drop of CMC four times daily for 7 days. In the 1× acupuncture group, acupuncture was performed on Ex HN3 Yintang, GB 1 Tongziliao, BL1 Jingming, LI 4 Hegu, LR 3 Taichong, SP 6 Sanyinjiao, and GB 37 Guangming for 20 min. In the 2× acupuncture group, acupuncture was performed at the same points on day 1 and repeated on day 3 after the first therapy session. Evaluation was performed 1, 3, 7, and 14 days after the first therapy session. The results showed that acupuncture increased Schirmer I test scores and decreased OSDI scores. The efficacy of 0.5% CMC was 87%, that of 1× acupuncture was 91.3%, and that of 2× acupuncture was 100% in increasing Schirmer I test scores on day 7 of evaluation. The efficacy of 0.5% CMC was 91.3%, that of 1× acupuncture was 87%, and that of 2× acupuncture was 100% in decreasing OSDI scores on day 7 of evaluation. No side effects occurred in the study.