AIM: To observe the relationship between primary pterygium and dry eye.

METHODS: Totally 50 cases of primary pterygium from August 2011 to August 2012 in our hospital were retrospectively analyzed. Pterygium eyes composed the observing group and fellow eyes composed the control group. To compare the eye symptom score, Schirmer Ⅰ test, tear film break–up time(BUT)and oculo- surface fluorescent(FL)score of the two groups was evaluated.

RESULTS: There was nosignificant difference between observing and control group(P>0.5), but the tear film BUT of the observing group was obviously lower than the control group(P<0.05), the symptom and oculo- surface FL score were obviously higher of the observing group than the control group(P<0.05).

CONCLUSION: Patients who has primary pterygium may usually feel uncomfortable like eye drying, vision decreasing and foreign body sensation and so on. Primary pterygium may cut down the constancy of lacrimal film and cause the oculo- surface damage, but the causal relation between primary pterygium and dry eye is not clear at present.