Ocular Surface Disease Index© and the five-item dry eye questionnaire: A comparison in Indian patients with dry eye disease

• Main Authors: Samrat Chatterjee, Deepshikha Agrawal, Pravda Chaturvedi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2021-01-01
• Series: Indian Journal of Ophthalmology
• Subjects: dry eye disease; health-related quality of life; ocular surface disease index; patient-reported outcome questionnaire; 5-item dry eye questionnaire
• Online Access: http://www.ijo.in/article.asp?issn=0301-4738;year=2021;volume=69;issue=9;spage=2396;epage=2400;aulast=Chatterjee
• ISSN: 0301-4738; 1998-3689

Purpose: To compare the suitability of the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) and the 5-item Dry Eye Questionnaire (DEQ-5) in Indian patients with dry eyes. Methods: This cross-sectional study evaluated the OSDI and DEQ-5 in patients with tear film abnormalities. Tear film breakup time, tear film height, Schirmer's I, lissamine green staining, and meibomian gland expressibility were performed on each patient. Results: There were 101 patients with symptoms and/or signs of tear film abnormality. Both OSDI and DEQ-5 questionnaires significantly correlated (ρ = 0.566, P < 0.0001) with each other. The OSDI questionnaire showed a good correlation with all dry eye tests, whereas the DEQ-5 correlated significantly only with the tear film breakup time and the lissamine green score. None of the questionnaires correlated with meibomian gland expressibility. The Bland–Altman analysis revealed a marginal bias (−0.01 unit) for DEQ-5. The DEQ-5 scored higher in patients with mild symptoms. While 101 (100%) patients answered all the questions in the DEQ-5, only 19 (18.8%) patients answered all the questions in the OSDI questionnaire. The least responses were recorded in the vision-function-related and environmental trigger subscales of the OSDI. Conclusion: The OSDI and DEQ-5 scores showed a moderate correlation. The OSDI questionnaire correlated with a higher number of dry eye tests than the DEQ-5. The large number of skipped questions in the vision-function-related and environmental trigger subscales of the OSDI suggests that the questionnaire is not adequately adapted to the Indian population. Patients with a negative OSDI score should be reassessed with the DEQ-5 to exclude symptom positivity.