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The literature is extensive regarding ocular surface measurements in adult asymptomatic and symptomatic soft contact lens wearers. However, the literature is extremely limited on subjective assessments and ocular surface measurements in pediatric soft contact lens wearers. A significant percentage of patients drop out of contact lens wear every year, and there are several factors associated with this decline, with contact lens discomfort being one of the most common reasons for discontinuation.There are multiple treatment options for contact lens-related dry eye, but there is no cure. This one visit non-interventional study was designed to understand what differences, if any, exist on the ocular surface between children and adults that would lead to information that could ultimately improve the contact lens-related comfort in adults. Additionally, understanding these differences may allow practitioners to recommend preventative care earlier in life.The results of this study revealed overall subjective measures of symptoms and vision-related quality of life between the two groups were similar, but the percentage of symptomatic pediatric (25%) and adult (50%) patients differed, was although the proportion of symptomatic children was higher than a previous study that reported 4% of pediatric participants were symptomatic. Additionally, there were fewer objectivemeasurements that differed between the two groups than was originally hypothesized.While not wearing contact lenses, the lipid layer thickness of the pediatric group was greater than those in the adult group. However, pre-lens lipid layer thickness values were similar between the groups. Future work is needed to understand the interaction between a contact lens and the pre-lens lipid layer.Although the pre-lens lipid layer thickness is similar between children and adults, the components of the lipid layer may differ between the two because the thicker bare eye lipid layer exhibited by children may preserve more of the lipid layer components that are essential for contact lens-related comfort. Development of new contact lens materials, surface treatments, additives eluted from the contact lens, or novel lens designs may may allow for increased comfort in adult soft contact lens wearers. The differences between the groups, particularly related to the lipid layer, should be investigated further. |
