Diagnostic utility of tear meniscus height measurement using anterior segment optical coherence tomography for lacrimal passage disorder before cataract surgery

To evaluate diagnostic utility of tear meniscus height (TMH) measurement using anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) for lacrimal passage disorder (LPD) in patients scheduled for cataract surgery. Patients with cataracts were enrolled. Lacrimal irrigation test was used to diagnose LPD. TMH measurement was performed using prior to cataract surgery. A receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to calculate the cutoff value of TMH to detect LPD. Correlation between TMH and age, sex, LPD, use of glaucoma eyedrops, and use of dry eye drops in patients with and without LPD was evaluated. Sixty-six patients (127 eyes) were included, of which 12 (9.4%) eyes had LPD. The mean TMH was significantly higher in the LPD group than in the non-LPD group (P = 0.007). Multiple regression analysis revealed a significant association of TMH with LPD (P = 0.000). With an area under the curve of 0.740, the optimal cut-off TMH value was 401.0 μm. The sensitivity and specificity of this cutoff value were 58.3% and 83.0%, respectively. These findings demonstrate the diagnostic utility of TMH, measured using AS-OCT, for LPD. This suggests that AS-OCT is useful for preoperative exclusion of LPD.