Background and objective: To assess the ability of optical coherence tomography to visualize the inferior tear meniscus and measure its height.
Patients and methods: Twenty-seven eyes (27 patients) with aqueous tear deficiency were compared with 20 eyes (20 patients) with normal tear secretion (control group). After the instrument was focused on the ocular surface, a 4-mm long vertical scan, centered on the lower tear meniscus at corneal 6 o'clock hours, was obtained using optical coherence tomography. Tear meniscus height was measured by means of an external application.
Results: Mean tear meniscus height was significantly lower (P < .0001) in patients with aqueous tear deficiency (mean +/- standard deviation: 0.13 +/- 0.07 mm) than in the control group (mean +/- standard deviation: 0.25 +/- 0.08 mm).
Conclusion: Optical coherence tomography can be used to noninvasively visualize the inferior tear meniscus. This method seems able to discriminate between patients with normal and dry eyes when measuring tear meniscus height.