The reproducibility of the Schirmer test. |
Jin Hak Lee, Pil Mok Hyun |
Department of Ophthalmology College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea. |
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Abstract |
The Schirmer test was performed 1350 times in 110 normal individuals and 15 dry eye patients to investigate the significance of the test as a diagnostic method for dry eye. The reproducibility of the Schirmer test was 54.5% in normal individuals and 41.9% in dry eye patients. There was no difference in the reproducibility between the groups with topical anesthesia and those without it. The ratio of misdiagnosis by Schirmer test was 48.4%. These results suggest that it is impossible to differentiate dry eye patients from normal individuals by the Schirmer test. |
Key Words:
Schirmer test;dry eye;reproducibility;ratio of misdiagnosis |