| Dry eye is a common complaint of millions of people worldwide with a significant impact on quality of life. In particular, it could have a significant impact on vision-related activities of daily living such as driving. The purpose of this investigation was to determine if 30 days of active topical dry eye treatment (SystaneRTM Balance, Alcon Laboratories; Ft. Worth, TX) has an impact on the simulated night-time driving performance in mild or moderate dry eye compared to a topical saline (Sensitive Eyes RTM, Bausch & Lomb; Rochester NY). Dry eye symptoms and signs were also assessed to corroborate our findings.;Forty human subjects with symptomatic mild or moderate dry eye completed a double-masked crossover study. Subjects were sorted randomly into groups that began instilling active treatment or saline 3 times per day for 30 days. A questionnaire, battery of clinical dry eye tests, and driving simulation (STISIM DriveRTM, Systems Technology; Hawthorne CA) were administered at baseline, after the first test period, and after the crossover. Simulation of night driving with fog and glare including air flow out of dash vents was selected to challenge dry eye subjects.;Symptoms and signs were significantly improved when using the active topical treatment in mild and moderate dry eye compared to saline. A trend of improved simulated driving performance with the active treatment was not statistically supportable except for the number of near collisions. Nonetheless, this study contributes to a greater understanding of the impact of dry eye treatment on simulated driving performance. |
