Infectious keratitis associated with daily disposable contact lenses.

PURPOSE: To report two cases of infectious keratitis associated with the use of daily disposable soft contact lenses.

METHOD: Two case reports of individuals who developed infectious keratitis while wearing daily disposable soft contact lenses are presented.

RESULTS

The first case is that of a 34-year-old woman who had been using daily disposable soft contact lenses for 18 months before she developed a corneal ulcer in her left eye. The cultures grew Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and she was treated successfully with fortified topical antibiotics. The second case describes a 30-year-old woman who had been using conventional soft contact lenses for 5 years before switching to daily disposable soft contact lenses 3 months before presentation. She was found to have a corneal ulcer in her left eye that grew Staphylococcus aureus on cultures, and she responded to topical antibiotic treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

Although daily disposable soft contact lenses theoretically have a lower risk of infectious keratitis compared with other lens wear regimens, reports have shown that at least some risk remains. These lenses should be prescribed and used with great care to minimize contact lens-related infectious keratitis.