“…Finally, 56 articles were included in the meta-analysis. As a placebo, the studies included in this meta-analysis used saline [ 30 , 33 , 34 , 37 , 45 , 47 , 48 , 53 , 57 , 71 , 72 , 74 , 77 ] or balanced salt solution [ 35 ], vehicle drops [ 29 , 43 , 50 , 52 , 56 , 61 , 66 – 68 , 80 ], artificial tears [ 81 ], sham pulsed light treatment [ 55 , 78 ], sham acupuncture [ 92 ], an ophthalmic solution containing base only [ 36 ], oral vitamin E [ 39 ], olive oil [ 7 , 42 , 44 , 51 , 70 , 75 , 83 ], sunflower oil [ 59 , 85 ], safflower oil [ 84 ], wheat germ oil [ 65 ], corn oil [ 54 ], palm and coconut oil [ 62 , 63 ], medium-chain fatty acids [ 60 ], or tablets without the active ingredient with the same appearance as the active treatment [ 40 , 46 , 49 , 58 , 69 , 79 ], placebo beverage with a similar texture, flavour, and taste as the active agent [ 31 ],1000 IU of vitamin A in a study using 100,000 IU of vitamin A as active treatment [ 76 ], or the placebo was not exactly specified [ 9 , 41 , 73 , 82 ]. Therefore, the choice of placebo was heterogenous.…”