ArticleClinical optometry2019
A comparative study of the quality of non-stimulated and stimulated tears in normal eye male subjects using the tear ferning test.
Article in Clinical optometry, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Alterations in the Crystallization Pattern of Tear Fluid Induced by Increases in the Body Mass Index.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The Clinical Value of the Ferning Test in Monitoring Dry Eye Syndrome in Patients with Sarcoidosis.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Advances in clinical examination of lacrimal gland.Frontiers in medicine · 2023Review
- Improvement in Tear Ferning Patterns of Sheep Tears After Addition of Various Electrolyte Solutions.Frontiers in medicine · 2021Article
- Analysis of Tear Ferning Patterns in Young Female Subjects with Refractive Errors.Journal of ophthalmology · 2021Article
- The use of tear ferning test in cats for evaluation of ocular surface.Acta veterinaria Scandinavica · 2020Article
- Comparative Analysis of Tear Composition in Humans, Domestic Mammals, Reptiles, and Birds.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeTo evaluate and compare the tear ferning patterns of non-stimulated and stimulated tears in normal eye male subjects using the tear ferning test.
methodsThirty-five male subjects aged 20-38 years with normal eyes were enrolled in the study. Subjects with dry eye or with a risk factor for eye dryness (eg, recent ocular surgery, contact-lens wearers, smokers, anemic, diabetes, and thyroid gland problems) were excluded from the study. Dry eye subjects were excluded based on the ocular surface diseases index scores, non-invasive tear break-up time, and tear meniscus height measurements from the right and left eyes. A tear sample was collected from both eyes in each subject to perform the tear ferning test for non-stimulated tears. After 10 mins, the tears were stimulated using a Schirmer strip, a tear sample was collected from both eyes in each participant, the tear ferning test was performed, and the ferns were graded based on the five-point tear ferning grading scale.
resultsThe average tear ferning grade [median (interquartile range)] for non-stimulated tears from the right and left eyes was 0.60 (1.25) and 0.50 (1.31), respectively. For stimulated tears, the average tear ferning grade from the right and left eyes was 0.50 (1.05) and 0.75 (1.25), respectively. There was no significant difference in the tear ferning grades obtained from non-stimulated and stimulated tears (Wilcoxon test,
conclusionThis study found no significant difference in the tear ferning patterns obtained from non-stimulated and stimulated tears, or between the tear ferning patterns in the tears collected from the right and left eyes before and after stimulating tears. It seems that there were no changes in the chemical composition of tears before and after stimulation, possibly due to the steady concentration of electrolytes and lipids within the tear film for both non-stimulated and stimulated tears.
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