BackgroundHemodialysis is essential for the survival of patients suffering from chronic renal failure. However, in diabetics the incidence of dry eye disease is higher than in non-diabetic individuals. Accordingly, we evaluated if this difference is attributable to different effects of hemodialysis on basal tear fluid secretion.MethodsA modified Schirmer´s eye test determined if hemodialysis improved basal tear secretion rates in 36 diabetic and non-diabetic patients undergoing hemodialysis.ResultsBasal tear secretion was invariant in diabetic patients whereas in non-diabetic individuals this process increased.ConclusionIn non-diabetic patients, autonomic neuropathy appears to be less severe and somewhat reversible since only in these individuals hemodialysis improved basal tear fluid secretion. This difference may be a factor contributing to the lower incidence of dry eye disease in non-diabetic patients.

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