Contact lens practice in Hong Kong in the new millennium

We evaluated the contact lens services provided by practitioners in Hong Kong, the fitting habits of the contact lens practitioners and their attitudes regarding the use of orthokeratology (ortho-k) and silicone hydrogel (SH) lenses for overnight wear.

Questionnaires were sent to all Hong Kong optometrists licensed to prescribe contact lenses.

Two hundred and seventy-five questionnaires (21 per cent) were returned. Most of the respondents (96 per cent) were employed in optical shops and worked in practices that provided contact lens services. The number of new/refit cases per practice per month was about 55, with the percentages of new and refit cases being 48 per cent and 52 per cent respectively. Eighty-eight per cent of the patients were fitted with soft lenses and 10 per cent were fitted with rigid gas permeable (RGP) lenses. Fifty-nine per cent of soft lens patients were fitted with planned replacement (frequent replacement and disposable) soft lenses. Fifty per cent of soft lenses were low water content lenses and 85 per cent of RGP lenses were in low DK (< or = 40) material. Multipurpose solutions and soaking solutions with separate cleaner were the most commonly prescribed care regimens for soft and rigid lenses, respectively. Thirteen per cent of the practitioners provided ortho-k services and the mean number of ortho-k cases per month per ortho-k practitioner was six, the majority of patients being children. DreimLens was the lens design most commonly used and Boston XO the most used material. However, 96 per cent of the responding practitioners had reservations about the practice of ortho-k and the use of SH lenses for overnight wear.

The contact lens market in HK is still dominated by soft lenses, particularly planned replacement lenses, whereas the percentage of RGP fits has changed little in the past decade. Few respondents used overnight ortho-k and SH lenses in view of concerns about their efficacy and long-term safety.