Trial reportEye & contact lens2016
Clinical Trial of Thermal Pulsation (LipiFlow) in Meibomian Gland Dysfunction With Preteatment Meibography.
Trial report in Eye & contact lens, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 72 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy of eyelid warming therapies in contact lens-related dry eye and comfortable wearing time: a systematic review with meta-analysis.Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists) · 2026Pooled it
- LipiFlow for the treatment of dry eye disease.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Efficacy and Safety evaluation of a single thermal pulsation system treatment (LipiflowInternational ophthalmology · 2023Trial
- Response of tear cytokines following intense pulsed light combined with meibomian gland expression for treating meibomian gland dysfunction-related dry eye.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2022Trial
- Performance of a Translucent Activator for LipiFlow Vectored Thermal Pulse (VTP) Treatment of Meibomian Gland Dysfunction.Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2022Trial
- Eyelid margin cleaning using Deep Cleaning Device for the treatment of meibomian gland dysfunction-associated dry eye: a preliminary investigation.Journal of Zhejiang University. Science. BTrial
- LipiFlow and the Transformation of Therapeutic Meibomian Gland Expression into Routine Clinical Practice.Ophthalmology and therapy · 2026Review
- Mechanisms and Safety of Therapeutic Strategies in Meibomian Gland Dysfunction: A Narrative Review.Ophthalmic research · 2026Review
- Vectored Thermal Pulsation as a Treatment for Meibomian Gland Dysfunction: A Review Spanning 15 Years.Ophthalmology and therapy · 2024Review
- Impact of dry eye disease treatment on patient quality of life.Frontiers in medicine · 2024Review
- Meibomian Gland Dysfunction Clinical Practice Guidelines.Japanese journal of ophthalmology · 2023Article
- Assessing clinical and molecular outcomes of prophylactic thermal pulsation therapy on ocular surface health following refractive surgery.Indian journal of ophthalmology · 2023Article
- Meibomian gland dysfunction patients benefit in ocular parameters and tear chemokines after thermal pulsation treatment.International journal of medical sciences · 2023Article
- Effect of a single vectored thermal pulsation treatment of Meibomian gland dysfunction patients under controlled environmental conditions.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- [Thermal pulsation system (LipiFlow®) for treatment of meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) from the perspective of an ophthalmologist in private practice].Die Ophthalmologie · 2022Article
- Thermal Pulsation with or without Dexamethasone Intracanalicular Insert for Meibomian Gland Dysfunction: A Prospective, Masked Trial.Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2022Article
- Eyelid Warming Devices: Safety, Efficacy, and Place in Therapy.Clinical optometry · 2022Review
- Alternative therapies for dry eye disease.Current opinion in ophthalmology · 2021Review
- Evaluation of Meibomian Gland Dysfunction Among Ophthalmic Healthcare Workers.Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2021Article
- Therapeutic Instruments Targeting Meibomian Gland Dysfunction.Ophthalmology and therapy · 2020Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThermal pulsation (LipiFlow) has been advocated for meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) treatment and was found useful. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of thermal pulsation in Asian patients with different grades of meibomian gland loss.
methodsA hospital-based interventional study comparing thermal pulsation to warm compresses for MGD treatment. Fifty patients were recruited from the dry eye clinic of a Singapore tertiary eye hospital. The ocular surface and symptom were evaluated before treatment, and one and three months after treatment. Twenty-five patients underwent thermal pulsation (single session), whereas 25 patients underwent warm compresses (twice daily) for 3 months. Meibomian gland loss was graded using infrared meibography, whereas function was graded using the number of glands with liquid secretion.
resultsThe mean age (SD) of participants was 56.4 (11.4) years in the warm compress group and 55.6 (12.7) years in the thermal pulsation group. Seventy-six percent of the participants were female. Irritation symptom significantly improved over 3 months in both groups (P<0.01), whereas tear breakup time (TBUT) was modestly improved at 1 month in only the thermal pulsation group (P=0.048), without significant difference between both groups over the 3 months (P=0.88). There was also no significant difference in irritation symptom, TBUT, Schirmer test, and gland secretion variables between patients with different grades of gland loss or function at follow-ups.
conclusionsA single session of thermal pulsation was similar in its efficacy and safety profile to 3 months of twice daily warm compresses in Asians. Treatment efficacy was not affected by pretreatment gland loss.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.