Abstract
Purpose :
To compare severity of dry eye symptoms and visual consequences between patients with keratoconus using corneal gas permeable lenses and those using scleral lenses.
Methods :
An online survey developed by the Scleral Lens in Ophthalmic Practice an Evaluation (SCOPE) study group was distributed by the National Keratoconus Foundation between October 2016 and March 2017. Respondents self-reported their keratoconus diagnosis and completed the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) that included 12-items to assess dry-eye related symptoms and their impact on functional vision experienced during the last week. In OSDI, participants rated each item on a scale of 0 to 4, with 0 for “none of the time”, 1 for “some of the time”, 2 for “half of the time”, 3 for “most of the time” and 4 for “all of the time”. The data were compared between lens types either by t-tests or chi-square tests first, followed by multivariate analysis controlling for age at diagnosis and number of years living with keratoconus.
Results :
422 participants completed the survey. There were 76 individuals using scleral lenses in both eyes (age at survey completion: 48(mean)±14(SD); age at diagnosis: 28±11 years). There were 75 participants using corneal gas permeable lenses in both eyes (age at survey completion: 52±14 years; age at diagnosis: 25±9 years). The overall OSDI severity score was significantly higher in individuals using corneal gas permeable lenses than using scleral lenses (44.0(mean)±2.7(sem) vs. 35.3±2.4, p < 0.05 from t-test or multivariate analysis controlling age of diagnosis or years living with keratoconus. Specifically, compared to scleral lens wearers, gas permeable lens wearers reported higher rating of feeling gritty (p = 0.02), feeling uncomfortable in windy conditions (p<0.001) and areas with low humidity (p<0.01).
Conclusions :
Individuals with keratoconus who use gas permeable corneal lenses report more dry eye symptoms than those using scleral lenses.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.