Tear Deformation Time and optical quality in eyes wearing silicone hydrogel contact lenses

PURPOSE: To evaluate tear film stability and optical aberrations in eyes wearing plano Lotrafilcon B contact lenses (CL). METHODS: Tear Deformation Time (TDT) and aberrometric parameters were assessed in 86 normal emmetropic eyes before and 6 h after wearing CL. RESULT: A statistically significant decrease in TDT and increase in root mean square (RMS) values of higher order aberrations (HOA) were revealed 6 h after CL insertion (both P < 0.001). The low order aberrations (LOA) RMS values measured with CL were higher than those in naked eyes, but the difference was not statistically significant. None of individual Zernike polynomials showed any significant alteration. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicated that the Lotrafilcon B contact lens affects HOA more than LOA. The tear film was less stable after wearing CL.