Evidence mapPaperPMID 41010406Full record

ArticleLife (Basel, Switzerland)2025

The Clinical Value of the Ferning Test in Monitoring Dry Eye Syndrome in Patients with Sarcoidosis.

Călina Anda Sandu, Cosmin Victor Ganea, Vlad Constantin Donica, Anisia Iuliana Alexa, Ioana Alexandra Sandu, Madalina Ioana Bilha, Camelia Margareta Bogdănici

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Life (Basel, Switzerland), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Călina Anda SanduOphthalmology Department, Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Iasi, Romania.ORCID 0000-0003-0516-9262
Cosmin Victor GaneaOphthalmology Department, Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Iasi, Romania.ORCID 0009-0000-5275-1795
Vlad Constantin DonicaOphthalmology Department, Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Iasi, Romania.ORCID 0000-0002-8814-3932
Anisia Iuliana AlexaOphthalmology Department, Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Iasi, Romania.ORCID 0000-0002-4226-3779
Ioana Alexandra SanduArcadia Medical Rehabilitation Hospital, 707035 Barnova, Romania.
Madalina Ioana BilhaOphthalmology Department, Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Iasi, Romania.
Camelia Margareta BogdăniciOphthalmology Department, Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Iasi, Romania.ORCID 0000-0002-9542-7714

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSarcoidosis is a systemic inflammatory disease characterized by the formation of non-caseating granulomas, predominantly affecting the lungs and lymph nodes. However, the disease can affect any organ, including the eye, where it most commonly manifests as uveitis and dry eye disease (DED). The Ferning Test (FT), a non-invasive method for tear film analysis, offers insight into tear quality. Through this study, we aimed to evaluate the ability of the FT to diagnose and differentiate DED in patients with sarcoidosis.

methodsThe study included a sample of 30 patients, divided into three groups, each consisting of 10 patients: one group of patients with sarcoidosis and dry eye disease (S-DED), one group of patients with DED without other systemic pathologies, and a control group of healthy individuals. Tear film samples were collected from the right eye of each participant, without stimulation, by microcapillarity. A drop of tear was spread on a microscope slide, allowed to dry, and then examined under a microscope to analyze the crystallization pattern.

resultsMicroscopic analysis revealed a significant difference in the structure and morphology of crystallization, as well as in the number of formed branchings, in sarcoidosis patients compared to patients in the other two groups. This finding suggests a distinct alteration in tear film composition in patients with sarcoidosis.

conclusionsBased on these results, the FT represents a valuable and promising tool for the diagnosis of DED associated with sarcoidosis. Being a non-invasive, easy-to-perform, and inexpensive test, it can be widely implemented in any ophthalmology department, opening perspectives for the test to become an important component among the diagnostic elements of dry eye syndrome in patients with sarcoidosis.

Indexed as

branchingdry eye diseaseFerning Testsarcoidosistear

Identifiers

PMID41010406
PMCPMC12471737

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.