Performance of Lotrafilcon B silicone hydrogel contact lenses in experienced low-Dk/t daily lens wearers.

PURPOSE: The silicone hydrogel lens O2OPTIX with a Dk/t of 138 (at -3.00 diopters [D]) was evaluated and compared with patients' habitual low-Dk/t lenses.

METHODS

This large, multisite (United States and Canada), single-masked study enrolled experienced daily-wear, low-Dk/t, 2-week replacement soft contact lens wearers. Subjects underwent baseline evaluations and were fitted with O2OPTIX lenses for a 2-week period. After 2 weeks, subjects returned for assessment versus their habitual lenses.

RESULTS

Data for 760 subjects were analyzed. The overall average habitual contact lens power was -3.13 D, and the average O2OPTIX lens power was -3.22 D. Biomicroscopy evaluations showed improvements in signs related to corneal health with O2OPTIX. Conjunctival and limbal redness, corneal neovascularization, corneal edema, and corneal and conjunctival staining all decreased significantly from baseline. O2OPTIX lenses performed better than habitual lenses in terms of comfort, symptoms, and overall preference. When wearing O2OPTIX lenses, significantly fewer subjects reported problems compared to their habitual lenses, including uncomfortable lens wear (-20.3%), redness (-44.5%), dryness during the day (-40.2%), and dryness at the end of the day (-34.4%); 47.9% reported that they could wear O2OPTIX lenses longer than their habitual lenses. At the end of study, among those with a preference, a significantly greater proportion of patients (60.3%) preferred O2OPTIX lenses to their habitual lenses.

CONCLUSIONS

Daily wear of O2OPTIX lenses resulted in improvements in corneal signs of health and patient symptoms and provided excellent vision and comfort. O2OPTIX lenses were preferred by subjects over their habitual lenses.