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Contact lenses fitted in unilateral keratoconic eyes improve near, distance visual acuity
Eye Contact Lens. 2009;35(1):15-19.
Contact lenses fitted in 29 cases of unilateral keratoconus resulted in better distance and near visual acuity, a study found.
After correcting unilateral keratoconus with contact lenses, mean distance visual acuity was 0.79 ± 0.14 Snellen letters and near visual acuity was 0.93 ± 0.26 Snellen letters. Spectacles corrected distance visual acuity to a mean of 0.51 ± 0.31 Snellen letters and near visual acuity to a mean of 0.66 ± 0.29 Snellen letters.
Measurements comparing the keratoconic eye and the contralateral eye in study patients were statistically significant for differences in corneal curvature, astigmatism, maximum curvature of the inferior cornea, mean corneal asphericity, mean minimum peripheral pachymetry and mean distance between the posterior face and the best-fitting sphere.
The study authors said that corneal pachymetry showed reduced corneal thickness in both keratoconic eyes and contralateral eyes, a suggestion of possible subclinical keratoconus in the contralateral eye.
"Controversy remains as to whether true unilateral [keratoconus] exists," they said.