Comparison of the Pre-Lens Tear Film Stability and Visual Performance of a Novel and Two Other Daily Disposable Contact Lenses in Healthcare Professionals Wearing Facial Masks for Prolonged Time

Assessing neophyte response to daily disposable silicone hydrogel contact lenses: A randomised clinical trial investigation over one month

OBJECTIVE

This randomised clinical trial assessed the impact on symptoms, tear film dynamics and ocular surface integrity of daily disposable silicone-hydrogel contact lenses (CLs) over a month, paying special attention to lid wiper epitheliopathy (LWE) and its implications for CL discomfort.

METHODS

Neophyte CL wearers (n = 44, 21.09 ± 5.00 years old) were randomly assigned to either the experimental (n = 24) or control group (n = 20). Participants assigned to the experimental group were required to wear daily disposable CLs for 1 month for at least 8 h/day and 6 days/week. All participants were healthy subjects (no history of ocular surgery or active ocular disease) with spherical refractive errors between -8.00 and +5.00 D and cylindrical power <0.75 D. At the baseline and 1-month sessions, the Dry Eye Questionnaire 5 (DEQ-5) was completed, together with the measurement of tear film osmolarity with the TearLab osmometer, tear meniscus height (TMH) and lipid layer pattern (LLP) using a slit-lamp with Tearscope Plus attached, fluorescein break-up time (FBUT), maximum blink interval (MBI), corneal staining with fluorescein under cobalt blue light and LWE with lissamine green under slit lamp and halogen white light.

RESULTS

At the baseline session, LWE showed a negative correlation with DEQ-5 (r = -0.37, p = 0.02). Significant differences in FBUT and LWE (p = 0.04) and a positive correlation between LWE and DEQ-5 (r = 0.49, p = 0.007) were observed at 1 month. Intrasession analysis at 1 month showed significant differences between the experimental and control groups in DEQ-5, FBUT and LWE (all p ≤ 0.02). Intersession analysis in the experimental group showed variations in DEQ-5, FBUT and LWE (all p ≤ 0.02) but no significant variation in the control group (all p ≥ 0.11).

CONCLUSION

The presence of LWE was significantly correlated with higher symptom values in the DEQ-5. Also, participants in the experimental group presented higher values of LWE after 1 month of CL wear, in comparison with the control group.

Comparison of comfort and tear stability with two novel silicone-hydrogel daily disposable contact lenses

BACKGROUND

The surface wettability of soft contact lenses (SCLs) affects the wearing comfort. Verofilcon A is a daily disposable silicone hydrogel contact lens with SMARTSURFACE® technology, ensuring high surface wettability.

PURPOSE

To evaluate tear stability on the surface of verofilcon A and narafilcon A SCLs and correlate these findings with clinical parameters and patients' discomfort.

METHODS

Sixty-two SCL wearers (124 eyes) with SCL discomfort were randomly assigned to use narafilcon A (control SCL) and verofilcon A for 2 weeks each by crossover. The noninvasive tear break-up time (NIBUT) of the naked eye at baseline and pre-lens NIBUT (PL-NIBUT) of the SCL surface after 2 weeks of using each SCL were measured using the DR-1α® dry eye observation device. Corneal superficial punctate keratopathy (SPK) (0-3) and conjunctival hyperemia (0-3), and comfort level of SCL wear (1-10) were also evaluated.

RESULTS

NIBUT and PL-NIBUT values were 4.6 ± 2.3 s for the naked eye, 6.6 ± 6.6 s for narafilcon A, and 11.3 ± 3.5 s for verofilcon A. verofilcon A had significantly higher PL-NIBUT than the naked eye and narafilcon A (p < 0.05). SPK (0.16 ± 0.48 vs. 0.00 ± 0.00, p < 0.01) and conjunctival hyperemia (1.15 ± 0.82 vs. 0.49 ± 0.50, p < 0.01) scores were lower when wearing verofilcon A than narafilcon A. The ocular comfort score of wearing SCLs was higher with verofilcon A than with narafilcon A (8.7 ± 1.8 vs. 9.8 ± 0.5, p < 0.01). The ocular comfort score for wearing verofilcon A was higher, regardless of the baseline NIBUT.

CONCLUSION

The results of this study showed a consistent surface-wetting advantage of verofilcon A in patients with ocular discomfort. verofilcon A was used comfortably in patients with low NIBUT scores at baseline. The findings suggest that verofilcon A is recommended for SCL wearers experiencing SCL-related dry eye symptoms and discomfort.

Patient Satisfaction and Tear Film Break-Up Time After First-Time Wearing of Silicone Hydrogel Contact Lenses

PURPOSE

The dryness and discomfort associated with soft contact lenses (SCLs) prevent their continued use. Recently, verofilcon A, a new daily disposable silicone hydrogel material SCL, was introduced, which has a high water content (surface water content of 80% or more) that overcomes the low water content drawback of silicone hydrogels. In this study, we evaluated the non-invasive tear break-up time (NIBUT) and comfort level in individuals wearing verofilcon A SCL for the first time.

METHODS

We enrolled 42 first-time SCL wearers, comprising 84 eyes. NIBUT was measured using the DR-1α® dry eye observation device at the state of the naked eye before SCL wear (baseline) and at one and four weeks after the first SCL wear. Additionally, we conducted a questionnaire survey during the fourth week to assess the comfort level (0-10) of SCL wear. Results: The NIBUT values were significantly higher at one week (10.8 ± 2.2 s, p<0.01) and four weeks (11.4 ± 2.2 s, p<0.01) after the first SCL wear than those at baseline (5.9 ± 2.0 s). Comfort level in SCL use was significantly higher at one week (9.0 ± 1.1, p<0.01) and four weeks (8.7 ± 1.2, p<0.01) than that at baseline (7.8 ± 1.8), and this level was higher regardless of the baseline NIBUT value.

CONCLUSION

Prolonged BUT and increased comfort levels were observed in individuals wearing verofilcon A SCLs. Improvement in tear fluid retention was found to alleviate dry eye and discomfort, suggesting that verofilcon A may be a beneficial introductory lens for first-time SCL wearers.