The Long-Term Effects Of Silicone Hydrogel Contact Lenses On The Ocular Surface And Tear Function Tests

Objectives: To evaluate the effects of three different silicone hydrogel contact lenses, i.e. Balafilcon A (Pure Vision, Bausch & Lomb), Senofilcon A (Acuvue Oasys, Johnson & Johnson), and Confilcon A (Biofinity, CooperVision), on ocular surface after one, three, and six months of wear.Materials and Methods: Silicone hydrogel contact lenses (SHCL) were fitted to 58 patients (Balafilcon A to 40 eyes: Group 1, Senofilcon A to 42 eyes: Group 2, and Confilcon A to 34 eyes: Group 3) who have not used any contact lenses before. All groups were graded according to the Cornea and Contact Lens Research Unit's grading score, and were performed ocular surface disease index scoring (OSDI), tear break-up time (BUT), and Schirmer 1 test.Results: The mean age was 22.45 +/- 5.96, 20.76 +/- 3.70, 21.00 +/- 3.84 years in Groups 1,2, and 3, respectively (p>0.05). While the increase in papillary hypertrophy as well as palpebral and bulbar hyperemia at 1st month in Group 1 and at 6th month at Group 2 were significant, there were no change in Group 3 with the use of SHCL (p<0.05). The mean OSDI, BUT did not show any difference in and between the groups (p>0.05). In Group 3, the Schirmer test was lower than in Groups 1 and 2, which was statistically significant (p-0.048, p-0.003).Conclusion: Factors like lens material, modulus, the presence of an internal wetting agent, and water content play an important role in the effects of SHCL on the ocular surface. In this study, it is demonstrated that SHCL does not cause clinically significant dry eye.