J Korean Ophthalmol Soc.  2016 May;57(5):700-704. 10.3341/jkos.2016.57.5.700.

Therapeutic Effect of Squeezing the Punctum and Lacrimal Canaliculus in Canaliculitis Patients

• Lee HK
• Park JH
• Lee JS
• Lee H
• Baek SH

• KMID: 2212710
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3341/jkos.2016.57.5.700

Abstract

PURPOSE
To report the therapeutic effect of squeezing the punctum and lacrimal canaliculus using Q-tips in canaliculitis patients.
METHODS
From March 2004 to February 2014, 42 eyes of 42 patients diagnosed with canaliculitis at our clinic were retrospectively analyzed. To remove the discharge and concretions, the punctum and lacrimal canaliculus were squeezed using Q-tips without invasive procedures.
RESULTS
The mean patient age was 56.39 years and mean follow-up period was 10.6 months. No statistical significance was observed in terms of rate of disease occurrence and mean age between males and females. Among the eyes analyzed, 30 (71.4%) were cured with only 1 squeezing procedure, 12 eyes (28.6%) required more than 2 procedures; 1 eye (2.3%) recurred and the period until recurrence was 3.8 months.
CONCLUSIONS
Most studies support surgical management as the definitive therapy for canaliculitis to remove concretions that serve as a reservoir for bacteria. The gold standard treatments are curettage or canaliculotomy; however, these are not safe procedures and may result in epiphora in post-procedure patients due to the risk of lacrimal pump dysfunctioning or scarring of the canalicular system following invasive procedure. Squeezing punctum and lacrimal canaliculus only using Q-tips is effective in removing the canalicular concretions and without causing complications in the canalicular system.

Keyword

Canaliculitis; Punctum; Squeezing procedure

MeSH Terms

Bacteria
Cicatrix
Curettage
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Lacrimal Apparatus Diseases
Male
Recurrence
Retrospective Studies
Canaliculitis

Figure

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  Figure 1. Canaliculitis patient. Conjunctival injection, discharge on the lower punctum (A) and pouting punctum (B).

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  Figure 2. Canaliculitis patient. (A) Squeezing the punctum and lacrimal canaliculus using Q-tips. (B) Removal of the concretions and discharge from the canaliculus.

Reference

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