Managing DED with lipid and non-lipid eye drops

The mainstay therapy for dry eye disease (DED) is the use of artificial tear solutions to supplement the natural tear film¹. The therapeutic landscape has recently seen a considerable evolution of topical eye drops. Formulations often incorporate lipid components to address tear lipid deficiency common in meibomian gland dysfunction and the associated evaporative, predominant subtype of DED². Practitioners seeking guidance in their choice of artificial tear supplements for the treatment of dry eye disease face a dearth of sound scientific evidence. Few studies compare the efficacy of lipid and non-lipid formulations across the breadth of dry eye subtypes and the quality of evidence is generally considered to be poor^1-7.