NCT02958514.

Trial name or title	Effectiveness: comparison of two kinds of treatment in treating dry eye caused by meibomian gland dysfunction
Methods	Study design: randomised controlled trial Study grouping: parallel group Exclusions after randomisation? Not applicable Percentage of participant follow‐up: not applicable Study duration (of intervention): 12 weeks with 3 cycles of IPL of 4 weeks' interval and artificial tears 4 times daily Was a sample size calculation reported: no
Participants	Baseline characteristics IPL group Number of participants (number of eyes): not reported Sex: not reported Age: not reported Topical antibiotics (standard therapy) group Number of participants (number of eyes): not reported Sex: not reported Age: not reported Overall Number of participants (number of eyes): 20 (not reported) Sex: not reported Age: not reported Inclusion criteria: people with dry eye syndrome and diagnosed as MGD Exclusion criteria: infection or inflammatory disease; ocular surgical history within last 3 months; Sjogren's syndrome Significant pretreatment baseline differences? Not applicable Severity of dry eye: not reported
Interventions	IPL Description: IPL (Diamond Q4 by DermaMed Solutions) with Xenon flash lamp to emit wavelengths of light 400–1200 nm. Duration: 12 weeks (3 cycles of 4 weeks) Co‐interventions: artificial tears 4 times daily Topical antibiotic Description: tobramycin and dexamethasone ophthalmic ointment at night Duration: 12 weeks Co‐interventions: artificial tears 4 times daily
Outcomes	Primary outcome: OSDI score at study completion (mean 6 months). Secondary outcomes: concentrations of inflammatory cytokines such as IL‐1, IL‐6 and IL‐8 at study completion; tear BUT at study completion; corneal fluorescein stain at study completion; eyelid ester discharge ability score at study completion; ester trait ratings at study completion.
Starting date	First posted: 8 November 2016; no further updates.
Contact information	Responsible party: Hong Qi Peking University Third Hospital, 49 Huayuan N Road, Haidian District, Beijing, China
Notes	Open‐label trial