Predictive factors for corneal infiltrates with continuous wear of silicone hydrogel contact lenses.

OBJECTIVE

To estimate the cumulative probability and risk factors for developing corneal infiltrates after up to 3 years of continuous wear (CW) with lotrafilcon A lenses.

METHODS

Patients were fitted with lotrafilcon A lenses and followed up for 3 years. The main outcome variable was the first occurrence of any infiltrative event in either eye. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to model the probability of developing infiltrates as a function of demographic and biomicroscopy findings.

RESULTS

A total of 317 patients participated in this study. The Kaplan-Meier unadjusted cumulative incidence of a corneal infiltrate after CW was 5.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 3.0%-8.4%) at the end of 1 year, 8.5% (95% CI, 5.2%-11.9%) at the end of 2 years, and 10.3% (95% CI, 6.6%-13.9%) at the end of 3 years. Corneal staining and limbal redness present in the affected eye on a previous visit were significantly associated with the development of an infiltrative event (hazard ratios, 7.23 and 3.18; P<.001 and P = .02, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Corneal staining and limbal redness may predict the subsequent development of an infiltrative event among CW contact lens patients. The probability of remaining free of any corneal infiltrates at the end of 3 years of CW of contact lenses was 89.7% (95% CI, 86.1%-93.4%).