Abstract: Objective  To investigate the correlation of the levels of interleukin-1β(IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) and thymic stromal lymphopoietin(TSLP) in tear fluid of patients with dry eye with tear film break-up time(BUT) value and corneal fluorescein staining(FL) score. 
Methods  A total of 120 patients with dry eye were selected as the research group, and 100 healthy volunteers during the same period were selected as the control group. Tear fluid was collected, IL-1β, TNF-α, TSLP levels were detected, and the BUT value and FL score of the two groups were compared. The correlation of IL-1β, TNF-α, TSLP levels in tear fluid with BUT value and FL score was analyzed. 
Results  The levels of IL-1β, TNF-α and TSLP in tear fluid of the research group were significantly higher than those of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05). The BUT value of the research group was significantly lower than that of the control group, while the FL score was significantly higher than that of the control group, with significant difference(P＜0.05). Pearson correlation analysis results showed that IL-1β, TNF-α, TSLP levels in  tear fluid were significantly and negatively correlated with BUT values(P＜0.01), but significantly and positively correlated with FL scores(P＜0.01). The ROC curve revealed that the levels of IL-1β, TNF-α, and TSLP in tear fluid had a certain diagnostic value for dry eye(AUC=0.830, 0.885, 0.838, P＜0.01), and the diagnostic value of the combination of the three was higher(AUC=0.920, P＜0.01). 
Conclusion  The levels of IL-1β, TNF-α and TLSP in the tear fluid of patients with dry eye are significantly correlated with the BUT value and FL score. Increased levels of IL-1β, TNF-α and TLSP lead to a decrease in tear film stability and ocular surface damage. Combination detection of the levels of IL-1β, TNF-α and TLSP in tear fluid can be used for the auxiliary diagnosis of dry eye.

Key words: dry eye disease, interleukin-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α