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Daily cleaning of extended wear lenses no influence on adverse events
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Daily cleaning of contact lenses with a multipurpose disinfection solution did not significantly reduce ocular adverse events with extended wear, according to a study recently published in Optometry & Vision Science.
Ozkan and colleagues conducted a prospective, randomized, parallel-group, controlled, open-label clinical study over the course of 3 months to evaluate the efficacy of multipurpose disinfection solutions (MPDS) on extended wear.
Researchers divided the 193 participants into two groups, both of which wore lotrafilcon A silicone hydrogel lenses (Night & Day, Alcon) on a 30-day extended-wear schedule.
Test group participants removed their lenses each day after waking, cleaned them with Biotrue (polyaminopropyl biguanide 0.00013% and polyquaternium 0.0001%, Bausch +Lomb) and reinserted the contact lenses. Control group participants wore the lenses for 30 days without removal unless they experienced irritation.
Researchers measured lens contamination related to handling at the baseline visit. They also conducted follow-up visits after 1 week, 1 month and 3 months.
Results showed no significant difference in mechanical events, significant corneal infiltrative events or total corneal infiltrative events between the two groups.
"Although the intervention of daily cleaning of the lens surface with an MPDS during extended wear did not significantly reduce inflammatory adverse events, a 74% reduction in significant corneal infiltrative events was observed in the daily lens cleaning (test) group," the authors stated. "Brief cleaning of lenses with an MPDS did not significantly impact lens or finger contamination before lens insertion.”
They concluded: "Practitioners should advise patients that without sufficient exposure to MPDS (as recommended by manufacturers), lenses are not likely to be properly disinfected. Although the eye has robust defenses against pathogens, bacteria appear able to exploit the presence of contact lenses. Although there is a reduced risk of complications with daily lens wear compared with overnight wear, without development of lens surfaces that resist bacterial adhesion/colonization throughout the lens wear period, the occurrence of inflammatory and infectious adverse events will remain an ongoing concern."
Disclosure: Alcon Laboratories supplied the contact lenses. The research was funded by the Australian Federal Government through the Cooperative Research Centres scheme.
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