Study: Self-closing puncta in GVHD...

Well, those who have struggled for years with plug discomfort, dropout, and above all cost might wish their puncta would occlude themselves... though on balance I'm sure they would not want to switch places with any of the patients described in this study.

Spontaneous Lacrimal Punctal Occlusion Associated with Ocular Chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease.

Kamoi M, Curr Eye Res. 2007 Oct;32(10):837-42.

Purpose: To investigate the clinical features of spontaneous lacrimal punctal occlusion (SLPO) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT).

Methods: One hundred nineteen recipients after HSCT who visited Keio University between 2001 and 2004 were examined. The condition of the lacrimal punctum, severity of dry eye, meibomian gland secretion, and presence of systemic chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) were determined with or without SLPO by retrospective chart review.

Results: Among the 119 recipients, SLPO was diagnosed in 8. All the patients with SLPO after HSCT had meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD), dry eye, and systemic cGVHD. The percentage of patients with dry eye, MGD, and systemic cGVHD were significantly higher in recipients with SLPO than non-SLPO recipients (p < 0.0013, p < 0.00015, p < 0.0008, respectively).

Conclusions: SLPO is a clinical presentation of ocular cGVHD and may be an indicator of the severity of dry eye and systemic cGVHD after HSCT.