Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40019876›Full record

ArticlePloS one2025

Changes in the distribution of the tear film lipid layer after intensive pulsed light combined with meibomian gland expression in patients with meibomian gland dysfunction.

Yongwoo Lee, Sung Woo Lee, Ji Kyu Yun, So Young Han, Chul Young Choi

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Yongwoo LeeDepartment of Ophthalmology, Kangwon National University Hospital, Kangwon National University School of Medicine, Chuncheon, Republic of Korea.
Sung Woo LeeGlobal Leadership College, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Ji Kyu YunDepartment of Ophthalmology, Kangwon National University Hospital, Kangwon National University School of Medicine, Chuncheon, Republic of Korea.
So Young HanDepartment of Ophthalmology, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Chul Young ChoiDepartment of Ophthalmology, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.ORCID 0000-0002-3453-3505

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThis study aimed to investigate changes in dry eye disease (DED) parameters and tear film lipid layer distribution after intensive pulse light (IPL) combined with meibomian gland expression (MGX) in patients with meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD).

methodsThis retrospective study included 218 patients diagnosed with MGD who underwent IPL combined with MGX. Various DED parameters, including tear film lipid layer thickness (LLT), were measured using a Placido disc tear film analyzer and slit lamp. Inferior corneal images were quantified and divided into upper, lower, nasal, and temporal quadrants, with further subdivision into six parts from top to bottom using Python.

resultsThe ocular surface disease index, meibomian gland expressibility, and quality scores significantly improved after three treatment sessions. Slit-lamp-measured DED parameters also improved, excluding the fluorescein-stained tear meniscus height. Redness in the nasal limbal and bulbar conjunctivae significantly decreased. The mean LLT tended to increase after treatment. LLT in the upper half of the images, but not in the lower half, increased significantly, with the difference in LLT between the two halves decreasing significantly from 34.46 ±  15.73 to 30.27 ±  14.63 nm (p =  0.031). When the vertical distribution was analyzed by further subdivision into six equal parts from top to bottom, the average difference in LLT decreased in the uppermost segment after treatment.

conclusionIPL combined with MGX reduced the vertical distribution of lipids in patients with MGD by reducing lower tear film lipid layer stasis. Thus, the Placido disc tear film analyzer is a useful tool for analyzing lipid layer distribution in MGD.

Indexed as

Dry Eye SyndromesIntense Pulsed Light TherapyLipidsMeibomian Gland DysfunctionMeibomian GlandsTearsAdultAgedFemaleHumansLipid MetabolismMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesLipids

Identifiers

PMID40019876
PMCPMC11870382

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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.