A study to correlate over the counter drugs and ophthalmologists prescribed osmoprotective drugs among prolonged visual display terminal users

To find out the drug instillation behaviour, the relationship between drug instillation behaviour and subjective symptoms & compliance rate of OTC purchased Osmoprotective drugs and to find the correlation between OTC drugs and Ophthalmologist prescribed drugs among VDT users. A prospective, cross-sectional study included 100 subjects who use OTC-purchased Osmoprotective drugs and have not visited Ophthalmologist recently. The study data were collected by asking one sutured questionnaire to find out the complete scenario of OTC drug usage patterns. Subjects were tested for Schirmer’s II test and according to the diagnosis, Osmoprotective drugs were prescribed. In our study, out of 100 subjects a significant majority (86%) did not visit ophthalmologists in the recent past, therefore the prevalence of OTC drugs has increased. Schirmer’s-II test indicated that most participants experienced mild dry eye symptoms in both eyes (14.26 + 4.21 & 14.37 +4.20). CarboxymethylCellulose emerged as the most commonly used OTC drug (64%). A significant association was observed between the dry eye severity levels before and after treatment (p < 0.000). Only 2 drugs CarboxymethylCellulose (p < 0.003) and Polyethylene glycol and polypropylene glycol (p < 0.000) are commonly given in both OTC and ophthalmologist prescriptions. This work gives a detailed insight into drug usage patterns purchased from OTC and also found the correlation between OTC drugs and Ophthalmologist prescribed drugs.