Short-Term Changes in Persistent Ocular Discomfort After Add-On Motugivatrep in Patients with Dry Eye Disease: A Retrospective Observational Study.

PURPOSE: To evaluate whether motugivatrep improves persistent ocular discomfort in patients with dry eye disease who remain symptomatic despite ongoing conventional treatment. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This retrospective observational study included 41 eyes from 23 patients with dry eye disease who experienced persistent ocular discomfort for more than 2 months despite standard dry eye therapy, as defined by an Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) total score of ≥13. A 0.3% motugivatrep ophthalmic solution was added to their existing treatment regimen. Subjective symptoms and objective ocular surface findings were assessed before treatment and 2 weeks after initiation. The primary outcome was a change in the total OSDI score. The secondary outcomes included changes in individual OSDI symptom items, fluorescein ocular surface staining scores, and tear film breakup time. RESULTS: The OSDI total score significantly decreased from 44.9 ± 25.3 at baseline to 25.5 ± 21.9 at 2 weeks, with a mean paired change of -19.4 points (95% CI, -27.3 to -11.6; n=23; Wilcoxon signed-rank test, p = 1.8×10-4). In the exploratory item-level analyses, nominal improvements were observed for several OSDI items. In linear mixed-effects models, the van Bijsterveld staining score decreased significantly (estimated change, -0.69; 95% CI, -1.22 to -0.15; p = 0.012), whereas tear film breakup time did not change significantly (estimated change, -0.78 s; 95% CI, -1.70 to 0.14; p = 0.096). No adverse events were observed during the 2-week observation period. CONCLUSION: Add-on motugivatrep was associated with an improvement in residual subjective ocular discomfort in patients with dry eye disease despite conventional therapy and may be a useful adjunctive treatment option.