Corneoscleral Profile Is Altered Following Short-Term Contact Lens Wear

Corneoscleral profile parameters undergo significant alterations following 8 hours of soft contact lens wear, according to a study published in Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics. These changes may be noted after wearing both silicone hydrogel and hydrogel contact lenses, according to the report.  

Researchers included 22 participants (82% women; mean age, 21.0 years) who wore silicone hydrogel and hydrogel soft contact lenses for 8 hours each in their left eye. The team obtained corneoscleral topography before insertion and after removal and calculated limbal position and corneoscleral junction angle. The study’s objective was to evaluate the effect of both soft contact lens materials on corneoscleral profile after short-term wear.

“The majority of studies on soft [contact lens] wear and ocular surface shape only investigated the central cornea, which plays a fundamental role in the vision process,” the study authors explain. “However, the corneoscleral profile characterization of ocular surface architecture has been proven to provide valuable insight into soft [contact lens] fitting.”

Overall, 8 hours of contact lens wear significantly affected limbal position and corneoscleral junction angle in both the silicone hydrogel and hydrogel soft contact lenses (120 vs 128 µm and 0.57° vs 0.55°, respectively), the report shows. However, both contact lens materials resulted in similar alterations of the limbal position (P =.98) and corneoscleral junction angle (P =.96). While contact lens material did not significantly affect these alterations in the overall cohort, it did significantly alter corneoscleral profile in some study participants, according to the report.

“[F]ollowing 8 [hours] of soft [contact lens] wear, significant changes in corneoscleral profile parameters were observed,” according to the researchers. “These results indicate the importance of biocompatibility with [contact lens] materials.”

Study limitations include a small sample size, a short study duration, the exclusion of individuals with ocular pathologies, and ethnic homogeneity among the cohort, which may limit the generalizability of these findings.