Abstract
Purpose :
Contact lens non-compliance can cause vision-threatening complications. Most compliance studies query clinical samples. This prospective survey study assessed soft contact lens replacement, overnight (ON) wear, and contact lens case compliance in a non-clinical sample.
Methods :
Subjects were recruited at the Center for Science and Industry (COSI) in Columbus, Ohio. Adult (≥ 18 years) soft contact lens wearers completed a survey about contact lens replacement, ON contact lens wear, and contact lens case replacement habits.
Results :
Mean age (n = 307) was 34 ± 10 years (18 to 67), and 77% (n = 236) were female. Two-week replacement lenses (according to the manufacturer’s recommended replacement [MRR]) were most common (45%, n = 135), followed by monthly (35%, n = 103) and daily replacement (20%, n = 60). Non-compliance with replacement schedule was reported in 40% (n = 120) of subjects. Age (p = 0.01, OR = 1.0), years of lens wear (p = 0.01, OR = 1.1), and MRR (p <0.0001, OR = 0.1) affected replacement compliance, after controlling for gender (p = 0.6, OR = 0.9). Post-hoc analysis showed daily replacement wearers were more compliant than two-week (p < 0.0001) and monthly (p = 0.001) replacement wearers. Non-compliance with prescribed ON wear was reported in 24% (n = 72) of subjects. Subjects who were non-compliant with lens replacement were more likely to be non-compliant with ON wear (p = 0.004, OR = 0.41) and had worn contact lenses for less time (p = 0.02, OR = 1.0), after controlling for age (p = 0.9, OR = 1.0), gender (p = 0.4, OR = 1.3), and MRR (p = 0.5, OR = 0.8). Of the subjects who used contact lens cases, 73.1% (n = 185) were unsure when they should replace the case. Frequency of case replacement was not associated with age (p = 0.09, β = -0.02), gender (p = 0.1, β = -0.3), years of contact lens wear (p = 0.2, β = 0.02), MRR (p = 0.1, β = 0.2), replacement compliance (p = 0.3, β = 0.2), or ON wear compliance (p = 0.3, β = 0.2).
Conclusions :
Daily replacement wearers were most likely to be compliant with contact lens replacement, but all subjects, including daily replacement wearers, had similar ON wear non-compliance. Non-compliant lens replacement was associated with non-compliant ON wear, but contact lens case replacement was not related to either compliance category. The majority of subjects had no knowledge of proper contact lens case replacement, despite compliance in other categories.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.