ArticleTranslational vision science & technology2021
Face Mask-Related Ocular Surface Modifications During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Clinical, In Vivo Confocal Microscopy, and Immune-Cytology Study.
Article in Translational vision science & technology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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
18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 44 citations in OpenAlex.
- TFOS lifestyle: Impact of societal challenges on the ocular surface.The ocular surface · 2023Pooled it
- Influence of short-term face mask wear on semiautomatically measured tear film parameters in dry eye patients and healthy volunteers.Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie · 2023Trial
- Risks and benefits of face masks in children.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2026Review
- Research on interdisciplinary measurement and evolutionary path in the field of ophthalmology.Frontiers in ophthalmology · 2025Article
- Evaluation of eyelid features' changes before and after COVID-19 pandemic amongst healthcare and home office workers.International ophthalmology · 2024Article
- Real or MADE-up: Investigating Mask-Associated Dry Eye (MADE) as an emerging syndrome.Eye (London, England) · 2024Review
- Post-COVID-19 dry eye negatively impacts the patient's quality of life.Arquivos brasileiros de oftalmologia · 2024Article
- The bacterial burden of worn face masks-observational research and literature review.Frontiers in public health · 2024Review
- Face Mask and Tear Film Stability: A Pilot Study of the Objective Measurement of Tear Break-Up Time.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- Choroidal and Retinal Vascular Findings in Patients with COVID-19 Complicated with Pneumonia: Widefield Imaging.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Association between mask-associated dry eye (MADE) and corneal sensations.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Face Mask in COVID-19 and Its Association With Dry Eye Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study.Cureus · 2022Article
- Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the ocular surface.World journal of clinical cases · 2022Article
- Ocular Surface Changes Associated with Face Masks in Healthcare Personnel during COVID-19 Pandemic.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Diurnal changes of noninvasive parameters of ocular surface in healthy subjects before and after continuous face mask wearing during the COVID-19 pandemic.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- LASIK flap dislocation following direct face mask-induced mechanical trauma.BMJ case reports · 2022Article
- Impact of face mask usage on physiological and histological ocular surface features of hydrogel and silicone hydrogel contact lens wearers.Oman journal of ophthalmologyArticle
- Sustained Reductions in Online Search Interest for Communicable Eye and Other Conditions During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Infodemiology Study.JMIR infodemiologyArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the face mask (FM)-related ocular surface changes using clinical tests, in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) and impression cytology (IC), and to investigate the Dry Eye-related Quality of life Score (DEQS). Methods: Sixty-six patients with dry eye disease (DED) and 62 healthy subjects (group 2) using FM were enrolled. Groups were divided into: groups 1A and 2A: < 3 hours of FM wear; groups 1B and 2B: 3 to 6 hours; and groups 1C and 2C: > 6 hours. Patients underwent DEQS questionnaire, break-up time (BUT), Schirmer test I (STI), fluorescein and lissamine staining (FS and LS), IVCM to determine corneal dendritic cell density (DCD) and goblet cell density (GCD), and IC to measure HLA-DR, at baseline and after 3 months. Results: FM use duration before enrollment was 27 ± 2.3 and 30 ± 4.1 (days ± SD) for groups 1 and 2 (P > 0.05). After 3 months, DEQS worsened in groups 1B and 1C, STI in groups 1A to 1C, FS and LS in group 1C (P < 0.05); in controls, BUT and FS worsened only in group 2C (P < 0.05). DCD significantly increased in groups 1A to 1C and HLA-DR in groups 1B and 1C (P < 0.05), whereas GCD did not significantly change. DCD and HLA-DR increased only in group 2C (P < 0.05). DEQS significantly correlated with DCD (P = 0.05, r = 0.698; P < 0.001, r = 0.832) and HLA-DR (P = 0.043, r = -0.687; P < 0.001, r = 0.861) at baseline and 3 months. Conclusions: Use of FM increases ocular surface inflammation and negatively impacts the quality of life in patients with DED. Translational Relevance: The study of the prolonged use of FM effects may be relevant to managing DED.
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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.