ArticleEye (London, England)2023
Blood-stained tears-a red flag for malignancy?
Article in Eye (London, England), 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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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.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 6 citations in OpenAlex.
- Lacrimal Sac and Nasolacrimal Duct Tumors Mimicking Chronic Inflammation: A Systematic Review.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Pooled it
- Catamenial haemolacria and ocular pain as rare manifestations of extra-pelvic endometriosis.Journal of surgical case reports · 2026Article
- Clinical features and imaging findings of early lacrimal sac neoplasms: a retrospective study.Quantitative imaging in medicine and surgery · 2026Article
- Review
- Malignant Lacrimal Sac Tumours-Review of the Literature and Report of Own Experience.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundBlood-stained tears can indicate occult malignancy of the lacrimal drainage apparatus. This study reviews data on patients presenting with blood in their tears and the underlying cause for this rare symptom.
methodsPatients presenting with blood in their tears, identified over a 20-year period, were retrospectively collected from a single tertiary ophthalmic hospital's database and analysed.
results51 patients were identified, the majority female (58%) with a mean age of 55 years. Most cases were unilateral (96%) with blood originating from the nasolacrimal drainage system in 53%. The most common diagnosis for blood-stained tears was a lacrimal sac mucocele (n = 16) followed by a conjunctival vascular lesion (n = 4). Three patients had systemic haematological disorders. The rate of malignancy was 8% (n = 4), with 2 patients having lacrimal sac transitional cell carcinomas, one with a lacrimal sac plasmacytoma and the other with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and bilateral orbital infiltration (with bilateral bloody tears). One patient had a lacrimal sac inverted papilloma, a premalignant lesion. Four patients had benign papillomas (of the lacrimal sac, conjunctiva and caruncle).
conclusionHaemolacria was a red flag for malignancy in 8% of patients (and tumours in 18% of patients). A thorough clinical examination including lid eversion identified a conjunctival, caruncle, eyelid or canalicular cause in 27% of cases.
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