Contact lens dropouts refit with different brand can be successful
NEW ORLEANS — Former contact lens wearers who discontinued use because of discomfort or dryness can be successful if refit with an alternative brand, according to Andrew Pucker, OD, PhD.
“If you have a patient who used to be a contact lens wearer, you should ask them about why they stopped,” Pucker, senior director of clinical and medical sciences at Lexitas Pharma Services, told Healio at Academy ’23.
Pucker and colleagues recruited 54 individuals aged 18 to 40 years who had stopped using contact lenses within the past 2 years because of discomfort or dryness. Participants were monitored for 6 months after being fitted with Dailies Total 1 (deleficon A, Alcon) spherical contact lenses, which use a novel water gradient material to combat dryness, and completed a remote questionnaire about satisfaction with the lenses.
When asked about their overall vision, 92.3% of participants reported being either satisfied or very satisfied. Further, 82.7% of participants reported being satisfied or very satisfied with contact lens comfort at the end of the day, and 92.3% reported being satisfied or very satisfied with contact lens comfort throughout the past week.
In addition, 80% of participants said they were likely or very likely to continue wearing the study contact lenses, and 92.3% were likely to recommend the lenses to a friend.
“We found that 52 subjects were still wearing the lens at 6 months, having a median of 6 days a week use, and they were comfortable for about 10 hours a day,” Pucker said. “So that is taking someone who had pretty much given up on contact lenses and making them a happy contact lens wearer.”
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Pucker A, et al. Frequency of successfully bringing contact lens dropouts back into a modern daily disposable contact lens at 6-months. Presented at: Academy; Oct. 11-14, 2023; New Orleans.
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