A Study of Contact Lens Comfort in Patients Wearing Comfilcon A Soft Contact Lenses Compared to Their Habitual Soft Contact Lenses

Thesis

Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University

By Michele LynnManeca Hager, OD Graduate Program in Vision Science

The Ohio State University 2009

Thesis Committee: Jason J. Nichols, OD, MPH, PhD, Advisor P. Ewen King-Smith, PhD Kelly K. Nichols OD, MPH, PhD

Copyright by Michele LynnManeca Hager, OD 2009

Abstract

Contact lens discomfort, especially contact lens-related ocular dryness, is a major cause of contact lens wear discontinuation. Many studies have evaluated different contact lens materials for their comfort in both normal patients and sufferers of contact lens-related dry eye. This study seeks to evaluate a new silicone hydrogel soft contact lens material (comfilcon A) in terms of comfort, measurable tear film parameters, and total contact lens-extracted lipid in normal and contact lens-related dry eye contact lens wearers as compared to their habitual contact lenses. Thirty four participants completed this study consisting of two visits—the first with participant wearing their habitual soft contact lenses and the second with the study contact lenses. Interferometric measurements of the pre-lens tear film thinning rate (PLTF thinning rate), the lipid layer thickness (LLT), and the initial pre-lens tear film thickness (PLTF) were recorded, the Contact Lens Dry Eye Questionnaire (CLDEQ) was peformed, and the participants’ lenses were collected for lipid analysis at each visit. The CLDEQ scores at the first study visit of the non-dry eye and dry eye group were shown to be significantly different from one another (p