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Daily disposable contact lenses suitable for teenagers
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Researchers who evaluated spectacles and contact lenses in teenage patients found that contacts were an effective, positive treatment option for this group.
Plowright and colleagues conducted an open-label, controlled, randomized study to evaluate clinical and subjective quality-of-life measurements for both treatments in teenagers, they reported in Optometry & Vision Science.
The complete data included measurements from 97 participants 13 to 19 years old. The participants, who had no previous contact lens wear, were divided into two groups; one group wore spectacles and the other wore Dailies AquaComfort Plus contact lenses (Alcon Inc.) for 6 months.
Results showed similarities between both groups in terms of visual acuity and biomicroscopy assessments. Researchers reported that while teenagers had a more positive attitude regarding the contact lenses after 6 months of wear, a higher percentage of participants who dropped out were from the contact lens group.
"Discontinuation from contact lens wear was more likely to happen within the first month; this included discontinuations attributed to discomfort, which mainly took place at, or just after, the week 2 study visit because of a range of adaptation factors," they wrote. "These results are similar to discontinuation rates for silicone hydrogel wearers in adults.
“A follow-up visit within 2 weeks of starting contact lens wear is likely to be important to address any queries that a new wearer might have (e.g., comments on lens comfort) and to maximize the likelihood of contact lens success," they continued.
The authors concluded: "Results from the present study showed that nelfilcon A daily disposable contact lenses are suitable for vision correction for teenagers, offering improvements in quality of life measures during the first month of wear, including appearance, satisfaction, activities and peer perceptions, without negatively impacting vision or eye health. Moreover, teenagers were able to handle contact lenses with the same amount of confidence as when handling spectacles."
Disclosures: The study was sponsored by Alcon Research Ltd. Kern is an employee of Alcon Research Ltd. The other authors have no financial disclosures.
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