Eye drop technique and patient-reported problems in a real-world population of eye drop users.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To assess eye drop technique and patient-reported problems with eye drop instillation in a primary care sample of eye drop users.

Methods

Cross-sectional observational study in 136 community pharmacies in Belgium. Patient inclusion criteria were being age ≥ 18 years and using eye drops for ≥ 1 month (to ensure that patients were already familiar with eye drop instillation). Participants demonstrated their eye drop technique and completed a self-administered questionnaire.

Results

Participants (n = 678) had a mean age of 68.9 ± 12.4 years. During the demonstration, almost everyone (98.0%) successfully instilled at least one drop in the eye, although 14% required multiple attempts to achieve this. Only 3% of the sample exhibited perfect drop technique, meaning

SUBMITTER: Mehuys E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7376112 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature