Clinical performance and patient preferences for hydrogel versus RGP lenses: A crossover study

Abstract

A clinical trial was conducted with 20 subjects to compare patient preference and corneal physiology for hydrogel (soft) contact lenses to that with rigid gas permeable (RGP) contact lenses. Each subject wore each type of lens for 6 weeks and then switched materials for the remaining 6 weeks. Initially, half the subjects wore RGP contact lenses, while the other half wore soft contact lenses. Subjects were monitored after 1 week, 3 weeks, and 6 weeks of wear with each lens type. At the completion of the study, eight of the subjects preferred the RGP contact lenses while 12 of the subjects preferred the soft contact lenses. Excluding foreign body staining, all subjects demonstrated corneal fluorescein staining with soft contact lenses equal to or greater than that found with the RGP contact lenses. Although five subjects could not fully adapt to the RGP lenses, seven of the 12 subjects who preferred the soft contact lenses were also “successful” RGP lens wearers. “Successful” was defined as being that the lenses provided clear vision and good comfort without interrupting corneal physiology. The results of this study indicate that 75% of subjects traditionally deemed more suitable for soft lenses could successfully wear RGP lenses and that 40% of the subjects may actually prefer them.