Corneal Sensitivity with Contact Lenses of Different Mechanical Properties

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Abstract
Purpose: To examine the changes in corneal sensitivity after overnight wear of contact lenses with different mechanical properties. Methods: Twenty young‐adult subjects wore a silicone hydrogel, rigid gas‐permeable, or orthokeratology (OK) contact lens in randomized order for a single night of wear in the right eye only. All lenses were matched in Dk/t (∼46 ISO Fatt). Changes in corneal apical radius r o , asphericity Q , and corneal refractive power (Medmont E300) were measured. Changes in central corneal sensitivity were also measured by a masked investigator using two instruments: Cochet‐Bonnet (COBO) aesthesiometer and Non‐Contact Corneal Aesthesiometer (NCCA). Results: There were significant differences in corneal topographic change from baseline between the lens types for r o , Q , and corneal refractive power. There were also significant differences in the change from baseline (mean ± SD) in corneal sensitivity between lens types using the COBO (silicone hydrogel, 0.02 ± 0.17 g/mm 2 ; rigid gas‐permeable, 0.03 ± 0.20 g/mm 2 ; OK, 0.22 ± 0.33 g/mm 2 ). A significant increase in threshold from baseline was only seen in the OK lenses (p = 0.006). There was no change in sensitivity thresholds from baseline for any lens type using the NCCA (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Central corneal sensitivity is reduced after a single overnight wear of OK lenses, as measured using the COBO aesthesiometer. This suggests that the mechanical force exerted by contact lenses may influence corneal sensitivity.
Funding Information
  • Bausch and Lomb

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