The Effect of Scleral Contact Lens Wear on Tear Osmolarity

Abstract

Purpose: To measure the effect of scleral contact lens wear on tear osmolarity. Methods: A total of 31 healthy subjects were screened for inclusion in the study. All subjects have never worn scleral contact lenses. After discontinuing current contact lens wear for one week, baseline tear osmolarity measurements were taken with the TearLab Osmolarity System (TearLab Corp., San Diego, CA). Twenty-three subjects were fit with the Valley Custom Stable (Valley Contax, Springfield, OR) mini-scleral contact lens design. Once an acceptable fit was achieved, the contact lenses were dispensed for daily wear use only. At the one month follow-up visit, tear osmolarity was remeasured under the same baseline conditions. A total of 13 subjects completed the study. Results: We analyzed the data from twenty-six eyes of 13 subjects. The mean baseline tear osmolarity value was 293.58 +/- 8.49 mOsm/L. After 1 month of scleral contact lens wear, the tear osmolarity increased to 310.65 +/- 17.46 mOsm/L, which was statistically significant (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Results were consistent with similar studies involving other contact lens modalities. A statistically significant increase in tear osmolarity was noted at the one month visit. It is hypothesized that this increase is caused by the disruption of the natural tear layer and, potentially, decreased tear production. CE Notification: This article is available as a COPE accredited CE course. You may take this course for 1-hour credit. Read the article and take the qualifying test to earn your credit. Click here to Enroll (https://www.crojournal.com/the-effect-of-scleral-contact-lens-wear-on-tear-osmolarity) Please check COPE course expiry date prior to enrollment. The COPE course test must be taken before the course expiry date.