To evaluate the clinical effect of intense regulated pulse light (IRPL) and changes in tear film thickness in dry eye patients.

A retrospective study was conducted on 25 patients with Meibomian gland dysfunction who had subjective dry eye discomfort and whose tear film break-up time (TBUT) was < 10 seconds. All patients were treated with IRPL three times on days 1, 15, and 45. TBUT, Schirmer 1 test results, cornea staining score with fluorescein, ocular surface disease index (OSDI), and lipid layer thickness were measured and compared before and after the procedure.

TBUT was significantly increased from 3.7 ± 1.2 s to 4.4 ± 2.1 s after IRPL ( p = 0.03). Schirmer 1 test and cornea staining scores changed significantly ( p < 0.01 and p = 0.01, respectively). OSDI also showed a statistically significant improvement from 39.5 ± 17.5 points to 30.4 ± 18.7 points ( p = 0.01). However, no significant difference in lipid layer thickness was observed ( p = 0.49).

IRPL is an effective treatment modality to improve TBUT, Schirmer 1 test scores, cornea staining scores, and subjective dry eye symptoms.