Purpose: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of switching from cyclosporine A (CsA) 0.05% anionic emulsion (CsA AE) to CsA 0.1% cationic emulsion (CsA CE) in patients with dry eye (DE) associated with Sjögren's syndrome (SS). Methods: Forty patients with SS-associated DE who were unresponsive to CsA AE for 6 months were enrolled. After baseline measurements, the CsA AE was switched to CsA CE. The ocular surface disease index (OSDI), Sjögren's International Collaborative Clinical Alliance (SICCA), and Schirmer's test scores and tear film breakup time (TBUT) were evaluated at baseline and 1 and 3 months after switching. Results: Two patients dropped out, and 38 were analyzed. OSDI and SICCA ocular staining scores were significantly reduced at 1 and 3 months after switching, compared with the baseline scores (all P < 0.01). Although no significant changes were noted in the corneal staining scores (CSSs), patients with higher baseline CSS (≥4) showed an improvement in the scores at 1 month (P = 0.03) and 3 months (P = 0.01) after switching. There were no significant changes in TBUT and Schirmer's test scores during the follow-up periods. Conclusions: In patients with SS-associated DE, switching from CsA AE to CsA CE was effective in improving ocular symptoms and conjunctival staining. In addition, corneal staining was decreased in patients with severe keratitis.
Keywords: Sjögren's syndrome; cationic emulsion; cyclosporine A; dry eye; switching.