Comparison of the effect of tea tree oil eye gel with standard treatment in patients with anterior blepharitis: An open-label clinical trial

Abstract

Purpose: Daily cleansing of eyelids is very important to carry out a successful blepharitis treatment. However, there are no therapeutic guidelines for blepharitis. The aim was to compare the symptomatic relief of anterior blepharitis using Blephamed eye gel, a cosmetic product, versus standard treatment.

Methods: The study was a prospective, interventional open label clinical trial at a university-based hospital. The test population was subjects aged 18-65 years who presented with mild to moderate anterior blepharitis. Eyelid hygiene was applied twice a day. At each visit, a detailed assessment of symptomatology was carried out. A two-way repeated measure mixed model ANOVA was used to compare two groups by time.

Results: In total, 61 patients with mean age of 60.08 ± 16.69 years were enrolled in the study including 30 patients in standard group and 31 patients in Blephamed group. Two groups did not differ in terms of age (P = 0.31) and eye laterality (P = 0.50). The baseline scores of erythema, edema, debris, and symptoms as well as total score were similar between two groups (all P values >0.50). Two groups became different for all these parameters at day 45 (all P values <0.001). Significant interaction was detected between time and intervention groups for all severity parameters of blepharitis as well as total score (all P values <0.001).

Conclusion: Eyelid hygiene with Blephamed more significantly decreased symptoms of anterior blepharitis compared to standard treatment.

Keywords: Blephamed; Blepharitis; cleansing gel; eyelid hygiene; tea tree oil.

Figure 1

Comparing total severity score of anterior blepharitis between Blephamed and standard-treatment groups at 14 and 45 days

Figure 2

Pre- and post-treatment slit photos of patients received standard (a and b) and Blephamed (c and d) treatments