Frequency of complications among wearers of disposable and conventional soft contact lenses

Abstract

A retrospective study of patient records from the Indiana University School of Optometry Contact Lens Clinic was conducted for the period of June to December 1990. This investigation compared the frequency of wear-related complications of conventional soft contact lenses and disposables. All clinic patients wearing daily and extended wear disposable lenses during the 6-month period were used in the study. The control group was selected by pulling every third patient information card on a randomly selected day each week from June to December 1990. The records of the soft contact lens wearers in this group were studied. For the purposes of statistical analysis, patients were also matched for age and sex and placed into modality-specific groups, and the frequency of wear-related complications was analyzed. Patients wearing disposable contact lenses were found to have a 0.33 times estimated risk of experiencing wear-related complications when compared to patients wearing conventional lenses. The data also indicate that the frequent replacement of lenses reduces the complications of giant papillary conjunctivitis and lens deposits.