Reliability and Validity of the Ocular Surface Disease Index

Abstract

DRY EYE DISEASE is one of the most frequently encountered categories of ocular morbidity in the United States, with as many as 4.3 million persons older than 65 years suffering from symptoms either often or all of the time.^1,2 The National Eye Institute workshop on clinical trials in dry eye defined dry eye as "a disorder of the tear film due to tear deficiency or excessive tear evaporation which causes damage to the interpalpebral ocular surface and is associated with symptoms of ocular discomfort."³ This workshop noted that a dry eye condition can exist without evidence of ocular surface damage and that a primary goal of treatment should be to improve symptoms. Moreover, the workshop participants concluded that all clinical trials concerning dry eye should include an assessment of subjective symptoms and functional lifestyle through the use of a well-designed and validated questionnaire, and that such an instrument may be the best measure for determining the clinical efficacy of therapeutic interventions.