Fact checked byHeather Biele

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October 23, 2023
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Contact lens dropouts refit with different brand can be successful

Fact checked byHeather Biele
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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.

image of a contact lens
Researchers found that most participants reported being satisfied or very satisfied with the study contact lenses. Image: Adobe Stock. 

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.”