Newer contact lens technologies do not reduce the risk of nonulcerative complications

Ophthalmology. 2009;116(3):385-392.

Newer contact lens technologies represent an upgrade over previous iterations in some regards, but they may also increase the risk of sterile keratitis, mechanical disorders, difficulty removing the lens and nonulcerative complications.

In reviewing 877 patients presenting to Moorfields Eye Hospital compared with 1,069 hospital-based controls and 639 population-based controls, researchers found that daily disposable lens use, when compared with soft lenses, reduced the risk of toxicity or hypersensitivity and metabolic disorders.

However, the most popular brand used by the study population was associated with an increased risk of sterile keratitis, mechanical disorders and the likelihood a patient would have difficulty removing the lens.

There were no hypoxic complications with silicone hydrogel, but compared with reusable soft lenses, there was an increased risk of sterile keratitis, mechanical disorders and nonulcerative complications. Silicone hydrogel lenses were associated with a twofold increased risk of sterile keratitis; other risk factors identified in the study included overnight use, poor hand hygiene, smoking and less contact lens experience.

"We have shown that neither of the two lens modalities introduced in the last 10 years — [daily disposable and silicone hydrogel] — reduces the risk of developing hospital-presenting acute nonulcerative [contact lens]-related complications," according to the study.