Contact Lens Assessment in Youth (CLAY) Study Design and Baseline Data

Abstract

Purpose: : To describe the study design and report baseline data for a retrospective observational study of soft contact lens assessment in youth (CLAY). This study analyzed soft contact lens (SCL) wearers’ clinical visit history and outcomes.Methods Clinical charts of patients aged 8 to 33 years were reviewed at six colleges of optometry. Patient care data were collected from January 2006 to September 2009. All SCL wearers with lens powers between +8.00 and -12.00 D were included. Patient demographics, SCL parameters, wearing schedules, care systems, and slit lamp findings were entered into the database.

Results: : Charts from 3,549 patients (14,327 visits) were reviewed; 73.3% were habitual SCL wearers and 20.8% were new fits. Age distribution was 8 to <13 years (n=260, 7.3%), 13 to <18 (n=880, 24.8%), 18 to <26 (n=1,273, 35.9%), and 26 to <34 (n=1,136, 32.0%). Mean follow up was 15.7±13.4 months. Males were 36.8% of the sample and 36.5% were current college students. More than 85% presented wearing spherical SCLs, 13.9% torics and 0.1% multifocals. Silicone hydrogel lenses were worn by 39.4% of the cohort. Daily wear was reported by 63.4% while 14.1% reported any or occasional overnight wear and 22.6% had unknown wear schedules. Multi-purpose care systems were used by 71.7% with another 7.8% using hydrogen peroxide solutions and 20.5% using an unknown or unspecified solution.ConclusionThis dataset sampled a diverse population of SCL wearers who presented for eye care in North American academic centers over a three year period. This dataset will allow analysis of SCL prescribing trends and wearing patterns for this cohort, including analysis of refractive correction distribution and risk factors for SCL-related complications including corneal infiltrative events by age group.

Keywords: contact lens • cornea: clinical science • clinical research methodology