Australian Red Cross Lifeblood Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Background/Case Studies: Dryness and inflammation of the ocular surface can result in severe discomfort and reduced vision. Dry eye predominantly affects females and can account for a quarter of the referrals to an ophthalmologist. Serum from blood donation can be used as a substitute for tears as it contains similar growth factors and nutrients. In Australia, autologous serum eyedrops (Auto-SED) and patient-tailored (allogeneic) (PT-SED) are manufactured. In May 2020, an eye dropper vial packaging system (MEISE) was introduced. Previously, segmented tubing was provided to SED users, which were problematic for some patients to use. To evaluate SEDs provided in MEISE vials, this study assessed patient reported outcomes on the packaging and ease of use.
Study
Design/Methods: Patients provided with SED between 1 November 2021 and 30 June 2022 were invited to participate. Patients were surveyed about the SED supporting materials, how they were using their drops and about their disposal. Existing SED patients were surveyed once, and new SED patients were surveyed 3 and 6 months after receiving their first treatment.
Results/Findings: Completed surveys were obtained for 24 existing and 40 new Auto-SED patients and from 10 existing and 8 new PT-SED patients. The mean age was 57yrs (±13) for Auto-SED and for PT-SED patients was 70-74yrs (± 11). Participants were predominantly female and had dry eye resulting from Sjögrens Syndrome (40-70%). More Auto-SED patients reported receiving the information brochure (73-88%) compared to PT-SED patients (45-66.7%). Similarly, for the information video accessed by a QR code printed on the box this was viewed by more Auto-SED (73-88%) than PT-SED (25.0%) patients. Information on supply volume was generally well understood by both Auto-SED (80-88%) and PT-SED (50-78%) patients. Damaged vial disposal was generally low with up to 8 Auto-SED patients discarding a maximum of 7 vials and 2 PT-SED patients discarding a maximum of 3 vials. Up to 85 vials were discarded due to expiry across 17 ASED patients with up to 180 vials discarded for expiry by 3 PT-SED patients. Some patients indicated vials were difficult to close once opened. It was also challenging for patients to travel with frozen vials. Conclusions: Efficacy of SED is well documented but to collect serum and manufacture SED is costly, requiring several manual processes and alternate distribution logistics. Feedback from SED patients enabled improvement of instructions for users and prescribing ophthalmologists and provides information to regulators on efficacy for funding. Many patients indicate that SED are a vital, and sometimes the only efficacious, product to treat their dry eye condition. The manufacture and provision of this service broadens the role of blood operators in health care.
Importance of research: In May 2020, an Australian blood bank implemented the MEISE vial system for manufacturing serum eyedrops (SED). Prior to the MEISE dropper vials, SED were aliquoted into single use segmented plastic tubing and required patients to cut with scissors to access the drops. This abstract contains data of patient feedback regarding the use of SED provided in MEISE vial packaging.
