Noncompliant Behaviors Identified in Children Who Wear Contact Lenses

Failure to dry contact lens (CL) cases and sleeping in CLs are among the most common compliance-related issues in children who wear CLs, according to findings presented at the American Academy of Optometry (AAO) 2022 annual meeting, held in San Diego, CA from October 26 to 29.

Jeffrey Walline, OD, PhD, FAAO, associate dean for research at The Ohio State University College of Optometry, led researchers in reporting the results of a randomized clinical trial that included 287 children ( mean age, 10.3) who wore CLs for myopia. Participants were randomly assigned to wear single vision, +1.50 add, or +2.50 add center-distance, monthly replacement, daily wear soft CLs for 3 years. Caretakers reported wear time, and children self-reported CL care and rated eye comfort on a scale from 1 to 10 (1, poor; 10, excellent).

A total of 91.3% of participants reported wearing CLs for a mean [SD] 12.3 [2.8] hours per day. More than one-third (38.9%) reported not drying the case. More than one-fourth (26.0%) napped in their lenses and 15.3% slept in them. Participants also reported not properly storing the case (11.1%), not rubbing the lens to clean (10.7%), not rubbing the lens long enough or at a correct time (11.8%), and incorrect lens replacements (8.8%).

Overall, participants reported a mean 1.3 compliance-related issues with 28.6% stating they did not have any compliance issues. Participants who practiced no more than 1 noncompliant behavior reported more comfort during the day compared with children who reported 2 or more noncompliant behaviors (9.2 vs 8.8; P =.002). Increased non-compliance was not associated with increased conjunctival redness or evening eye comfort.