Myopia control with dual‐focus soft contact lenses during the first year of measures to contain the COVID‐19 pandemic

PURPOSE: This study compared refractive and axial length (AL) changes in children wearing dual‐focus soft contact lenses for myopia control (MiSight®) with myopic children wearing spectacles one year from the start of lockdown during the COVID‐19 pandemic. METHODS: This retrospective, descriptive, parallel‐group, observational study reviewed the charts of 11 children who began treatment for myopia control with dual‐focus soft contact lenses for myopia control (MiSight®) in March 2020 and 11 matched spectacle‐wearing controls. The mean increase in spherical equivalent refraction (SER) and AL from the beginning of the lockdown and up to 1 year later were compared. The parents of the children were asked about the average time spent on near work, contact lens wearing time both during and after the strict confinement and whether they had discontinued contact lens wear during lockdown. RESULTS: During this first year of preventive COVID‐19 measures (March 2020–March 2021), for the contact lens group the average SER and AL increased −0.14 ± 0.09D and 0.13 ± 0.05 mm, respectively. For the spectacle wearers, the corresponding increases were −0.54 ± 0.16D and 0.25 ± 0.08 mm, respectively. A significant difference was found between the groups for both SER (p < 0.001) and AL (p < 0.05). The average time spent outdoors was restricted for both groups during lockdown and increased after. However, statistically significant changes in the time spent outdoors during and after lockdown were only found for the spectacle group (p < 0.05; t‐test), whereas this change was not significant for the contact lens group (p = 0.08). CONCLUSIONS: Over the observed time period, dual‐focus soft contact lenses for myopia control were effective despite the decreased time spent outdoors during the COVID‐19 pandemic.