Elsevier

The Ocular Surface

Volume 5, Issue 1, January 2007, Pages 50-57
The Ocular Surface

Innovative Techniques and Technology
Gary N. Foulks, MD, section editor
Development and Validation of a Short Global Dry Eye Symptom Index

https://doi.org/10.1016/S1542-0124(12)70053-8Get rights and content

Abstract

We have developed and evaluated the repeatability of a short questionnaire based on a visual analog scale (VAS) to quantify the frequency and severity of symptoms of dry eye syndrome (DES). The “Symptom Assessment iN Dry Eye” (SANDE) questionnaire utilizes a 100 mm horizontal VAS technique to quantify patient symptoms of ocular dryness and/or irritation. Fifty-two subjects with DES were prospectively enrolled and followed-up at 2 and 4 months with repeated administrations of the SANDE questionnaire and clinical ocular surface evaluation. Subjects demonstrated a wide range of symptom scores indicative of the variability of the disease. Analyses comparing the repeatability of SANDE scores from baseline to the 2-month follow-up indicated a significant downward regression of scores toward the mean. In contrast, repeatability measures were consistently good for questionnaires administered within a few days of one another (ICC ranging from 0.53 to 0.76). Bland-Altman analysis demonstrated that 50% of repeated SANDE symptom scores were within 10 mm of each other, 80% were within 20 mm, and 95% were within less than 30 mm. These data describe good repeatability for the SANDE symptom score when repeated assessments are made within a few days. The results are encouraging and suggest that further refinement and testing of the SANDE questionnaire in larger populations may result in a reliable questionnaire to detect change in irritative symptoms over time.

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This study was supported primarily by a grant provided by Daiichi Pharmaceutical Corporation, Montvale, NJ

The authors have no proprietary or commercial interests related to the material presented in this manuscript.

Single copy reprint requests to Debra Schaumberg, ScD, OD, MPH (address below).

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