Impact of Tea Tree Oil on Dry Eye Syndrome After Photorefractive Keratectomy Laser Surgery

The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of tea tree oil on Dry Eye Syndrome (DES) after Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK) laser surgery. This retrospective historical cohort study was conducted on 64 patients with complaints of DES after PRK surgery. The patients were classified as and assessed in two groups: (1) tea tree oil group who used antibiotic, steroid drop and tea tree oil shampoo, and (2) artificial tear group with antibiotic, steroid and artificial tear drops usage. The data of the study was obtained by the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) and the Standard Patient Evaluation of Eye Dryness Questionnaire (SPEED) questionnaires’ scores on two occasions, one and three months after surgery in follow-up visits. Additionally, refraction, corrected distance visual acuity, Schirmer’s and tear break-up time tests were recorded. The patients’ mean age was 35.12±13.97 (range: 18-70 years), of whom 38 (59.4%) were female and 26 (40.6%) were male. The average score of the dry eye calculated from OSDI and SPEED questionnaires in patients treated with tea tree oil shampoo was significantly reduced compared with patients treated with artificial tear drop in three months after surgery (AR=0.136 and p<0.05). Furthermore, tear break-up time significantly increased in patients, indicating the improvement of DES. Schirmer’s test and corneal staining with fluorescein did not improve significantly (p<0.05). The use of tea tree oil shampoo can improve dry eye syndrome after photorefractive keratectomy laser surgery.