Overnight corneal reshaping versus soft daily wear: a visual quality of life study (interim results)

To evaluate patients' perceptions of visual quality of life differences in a crossover study with two different modes of contact lens wear: overnight corneal reshaping (OCR) lenses and daily-wear soft lenses.

Qualified subjects wore one mode of contact lens for 8 weeks and then completed the National Eye Institute RQL-42 questionnaire. After a washout period, subjects wore the alternate mode for 8 weeks followed by the questionnaire. During soft lens mode, subjects wore lenses during their waking hours. During the overnight corneal reshaping mode, subjects wore lenses only while sleeping. Soft lenses were Biomedics 55 2-week disposable lenses. OCR lenses were Corneal Refractive Therapy (CRT) lenses by Paragon. Subjects were randomly assigned to wear soft contact lenses or OCR lens first. After completing both phases of the study, patients were asked to choose which mode they preferred.

Interim results show that of 74 subjects enrolled, 45 have completed both phases; 14 have dropped out of the study; and 15 are still in process. Of the 45 subjects completing both phases, 32 have chosen to continue with the CRT lenses, and 13 have chosen to stay with the soft lenses. Logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution visual acuity was 0.06 (20/20) for soft contact lenses and 0.11 (20/25) for CRT lenses. RQL-42 scoring for overall satisfaction was 81.33 for OCR lenses and 74.67 for soft lenses.

Although overall satisfaction scores and vision were comparable between the two modes, 71% of the subjects elected to stay with CRT lenses. In this study of patients who experienced both modes of lens wear, 71% chose OCR lenses.