Objective and subjective assessing efficacy of a lubricating drop in eyes wearing silicone hydrogel contact lenses

PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of a lubricating drop on optical quality, tear film stability, and subjective symptoms in individuals wearing silicone hydrogel contact lens. METHODS: In this one-day, prospective single-center clinical study, Pre-lens Tear Deformation Time (PL-TDT), Root-Mean-Square (RMS) of Low Order Aberrations (LOA) and High Order Aberrations (HOA), individual twelve Zernike coefficients, and subjective symptoms were assessed in 43 volunteers (mean age 19.58 ± 1.63, 86 eyes) at 6 h after inserting the contact lens and then at 60 min after instilling a lubricating drop (Comfort drops, Avizor, Madrid-Spain). RESULTS: PL-TDT, LOA-RMS, and HOA-RMS values measured before drop instillation were not significantly different with those measured after drop. None of the Zernike coefficients were significantly different after instilling lubricating drop. Statistically significant decrement in both frequency and severity values in blurry vision, dryness, discomfort, burning, itching, foreign body sensation, excessive blinking, and lacrimation were seen after drop instillation (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our results showed that although the lubricating drop did not improve the tear film stability and optical quality in the silicone hydrogel contact lens wearers, subjects experienced a subjective improvement.