Patient considerations versus actual reasons for contact lens cessation: Insights from a survey-based study

To analyze and compare non-contact lens-related and contact lens-related reasons influencing cessation considerations in current contact lens wearers (CLWs) with the actual reasons for cessation reported by discontinued CLWs.

This was an cross-sectional study with face-to-face survey administered to current and discontinued CLWs by trained optometrists at the General Óptica centers across Spain. The survey included basic demographic information, and explored both non-contact lens-related and contact lens-related reasons that led current CLWs to consider cessation or resulted in cessation among discontinued CLWs.

A total of 1266 surveys, including 764 from current CLWs and 502 from discontinued CLWs, were included. Regarding non-contact lens-related reasons for cessation, discontinued CLWs more frequently reported a "Preference for wearing spectacles" (13.1 % vs. 3.8 %, P < 0.05) and "Recommendation by an eye care practitioner" (5.2 % vs. 0.6 %, P < 0.05), while current CLWs more often cited "Refractive surgery" (15.8 % vs. 9.4 %, P < 0.05). For contact lens-related reasons for cessation, discontinued CLWs more frequently reported "Difficulty handling contact lenses" (10.6 % vs. 1.9 %, P = 0.001), whereas current CLWs more commonly cited "Contact lens-related ocular symptoms" (57.6 % vs. 43.8 %, P < 0.05). Agreement between groups was generally low for all reasons analyzed, ranging from -0.115 to 0.103.

The reasons for cessation from the perspective of current and discontinued CLWs yield different results. By addressing the reasons considered by current CLWs, while taking into account the reasons most strongly associated with cessation in discontinued CLWs, eye care practitioners could proactively prevent CL cessation.