Dry eye associated with bone marrow transplantation

Thirty-two patients who had undergone bone marrow transplantation (BMT) at Keio University Hospital were examined retrospectively for ophthalmological complications. Ophthalmological complications were present in 19 (59%) of the 32 patients and 10 had dry eye (31% of the 32 patients and 45% of the 22 in whom tear secretion was measured and staining was performed). Dry eye was thus the most common ocular complication in these patients who had undergone BMT. The mean onset of dry eye in this study was 135 days. However, dry eye was diagnosed in 5 (50%) of the 10 patients earlier than 100 days after BMT. This result indicates that dry eye after BMT may occur earlier than the onset of chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD).