Ortho-K safe, effective, well accepted as myopia correcting technique
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Key takeaways:
- Ortho-K was associated with high satisfaction and quality of life scores from users.
- Researchers reported that ortho-K was safe and effective in correcting myopia in adults with low to moderate myopia.
Orthokeratology is a viable myopia correcting technique and yielded high satisfaction in adults with low to moderate myopia in China, researchers reported.
“Ortho-K was well accepted for myopia correction by adults with low to moderate myopia, as demonstrated by the high levels of satisfaction and [quality of life] scores, particularly those who were dependent on vision correction in the daytime,” QianGeMai Ren, of the departments of optometry and vision sciences and ophthalmology at Sichuan University in China, and colleagues wrote in Contact Lens and Anterior Eye. “The treatment is safe and effective, improving daytime vision without any significant adverse events.”
In a 1-year randomized study evaluating the clinical effects and patient satisfaction of using ortho-K lenses, Ren and colleagues enrolled 44 adults aged 18 to 38 years (average age, 25 years; 79.55% women) with mild to moderate myopia, astigmatism ( 1.50 D), anisometropia ( 1.50 D), best corrected visual acuity ( 0.10 LogMAR) and good ocular health who habitually wore spectacles or soft contact lenses.
Researchers collected participants’ history, refraction, axial length, corneal topography and corneal biomechanics and conducted biomicroscopy examination at baseline and 6 and 12 months. In addition, participants completed satisfaction questionnaires at 1, 6 and 12 months, as well as quality of life questionnaires at baseline and 12 months.
Participants were randomly split into two groups: one that wore ortho-K lenses with a conventional compression factor of 0.75 D and another that wore ortho-K lenses with an increased compression factor of 1.75 D.
Ren and colleagues reported that axial length was significantly shortened at 12 months compared with baseline measurements (–0.03 mm, P < .05). They also reported a reduction in central endothelial cell density by 40/mm2 (P < .05).
According to researchers, scores in quality of life, dependence on correction, activity limitation, appearance and satisfaction with treatment significantly increased at the 12-month mark compared with baseline. Satisfaction questionnaire scores also were high at every evaluation interval.
“Results suggest that ortho-K can be an effective and safe myopia correction technique for adults with low to moderate myopia, improving daytime vision without serious adverse events,” Ren and colleagues wrote. “Satisfaction with ortho-K lens wear was high, particularly those who were dependent on vision correction and found spectacles or contact lenses limiting specific activities or cosmetically undesirable.”
Perspective
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Ortho-K is typically thought of as a modality for correcting myopia and myopia control in children. The adult population does not usually have it offered to them to correct their low-to-moderate levels of myopia.
This research paper presents data showing that ortho-K not only provides good daytime myopia correction but also improves quality of life in adult patients. Mild adverse events were recorded, including corneal staining that quickly resolved with cessation of ortho-K for a short period of time and frequent lubrication.
Once a myopic prescription has become stable, the conversation often turns to refractive surgery. With most patients, there is some apprehension about the permanence of laser surgery, cost and requiring reading glasses once presbyopia begins. Ortho-K is a good solution that is non-permanent, corrects low-to-moderate levels of myopia, may be more cost-effective and can always be adjusted or washed out once presbyopia begins to set in.
The drawbacks are that full myopic correction can take up to 4 weeks to achieve, which is difficult for many adult patients, as this population commonly has a high demand for visual acuity to complete their daily tasks compared to children.
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