Guideline on the Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Treatment of Sjögren’s syndrome dry eye

ABSTRACT

Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) is an autoimmune disease characterized by lymphocytic infiltration of exocrine glands. Dry eye is the most common ocular manifestation of SS, with an incidence rate as high as 70% to 90%. It is characterized by a prolonged course, tendency to recur, and prominent immune-mediated damage. Sjögren’s syndrome dry eye (SS-DE) often presents with severe symptoms and signs, and has a poor prognosis, with severe cases potentially leading to blindness. For patients with immune-mediated diseases who present to ophthalmology departments primarily due to dry eye symptoms, early and accurate diagnosis by ophthalmologists, combined with multidisciplinary management, can significantly improve visual quality and quality of life for such patients. Therefore, this guideline builds upon the existing framework to refine the timing of screening, clinical manifestations, and classification characteristics of SS-DE, clarify the disease progression staging and stepwise treatment process, and supplement with traditional Chinese medicine syndrome differentiation and treatment protocols, providing clinicians with more specific diagnostic and therapeutic guidelines.