Clinical assessment of ocular response to a multipurpose contact lens care solution

The issue of possible adverse effects of contact lens care solutions on ocular health has been raised in the literature. Possible effects of a multipurpose contact lens care solution (Bausch & Lomb ReNu) on eight measures of ocular function were evaluated relative to the effects of physiological saline (Bausch & Lomb Sensitive Eyes). In a randomized, two-treatment, crossover design, all subjects were treated with each of the two solutions on successive weeks. In 73 subjects, comprised of contact lens and non-lens wearers, tear break-up time was measured using the keratometer mire and fluorescein techniques. Measures of autonomic function were vertical palpebral aperture size, amplitude of accommodation, intraocular pressure, pupil size, conjunctival injection, and pupil reactivity. The results indicated that this multipurpose solution provoked no adverse ocular response as determined by the tear break-up time and autonomic functions, and the multipurpose solution was clinically equivalent to physiological saline. These results apply to both contact lens wearers and non-lens wearers. Additional findings speak of the unreliability of the fluorescein method for measuring tear break-up time.