Effects of Custom-Designed Soft Contact Lenses on Irregular Astigmatism Correction in Patients with Keratoconus

Abstract

Purpose

To evaluate the efficacy of YOUSOFT soft contact lenses in correcting irregular astigmatism and prescription results of patients with keratoconus.

Patients and Methods

The retrospective observational study included 55 eyes (mean age, 32.2 ± 10.6 years; 36 men and 6 women) of 42 patients with keratoconus who tried YOUSOFT for rigid gas permeable (RGP) lens intolerance. Average keratometry, corneal astigmatism, and maximum keratometry were 49.4 ± 5.2 diopters (D), 3.7 ± 2.1 D, and 57.3 ± 8.2 D, respectively. Patients were divided into YOUSOFT prescription and non-prescription cases, wherein the prescription rates were calculated. YOUSOFT visual acuity was compared with spectacle-corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA) and RGP lens-CDVA.

Results

YOUSOFT was prescribed to 28 out of 42 patients (prescription rate 67%). In the YOUSOFT prescription cases, YOUSOFT-CDVA (logMAR −0.04; 95% confidence interval [CI]: −0.08 to 0.00) was significantly better than spectacle-CDVA (logMAR 0.23; 95% CI: 0.08 to 0.38; P < 0.0001), whereas YOUSOFT-CDVA (logMAR −0.03; 95% CI: −0.08 to 0.03) did not significantly differ from the RGP lens-CDVA (logMAR −0.02; 95% CI: −0.08 to 0.04; P = 0.856).

Conclusion

YOUSOFT was effective in correcting irregular corneal astigmatism, suggesting that it is highly effective in patients with RGP lens intolerance.

Keywords:

• rigid gas-permeable contact lens intolerance
• YOUSOFT soft contact lens
• visual acuity
• prescription rate

Abbreviations

RGP, rigid gas permeable; D, diopter; CDVA, corrected distance visual acuity; CI, confidence interval.

Data Sharing Statement

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in the manuscript and its Supplementary Materials. Further enquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

Study Approval Statement

This retrospective study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Nagoya Eye Clinic (2021-50). The study was performed in accordance with the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki.

Consent to Participate Statement

An opt-out method was approved, and the need for obtaining written informed consent was waived.

Acknowledgments

This study was orally presented at the Annual Meeting of the Japan Orthoptic Congress, held in Tokyo, Japan, on November 20–21, 2021.

Author Contributions

All authors made a significant contribution to the work reported, including either the conception, study design, execution, acquisition of data, analysis, and interpretation, or all these areas; took part in drafting, revising or critically reviewing the article; gave final approval of the version to be published; have agreed on the journal to which the article has been submitted; and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Disclosure

Dr. Kojima reports receiving personal fees from Carl Zeiss Meditec, Johnson & Johnson, SEED, Staar Surgical, Santen Pharmaceutical, Otsuka Pharmaceutical, and Alcon Japan, outside of the submitted work. Dr. Kojima also has a patent (2019-045345) licensed to Takashi Kojima. Dr. Nakamura reports receiving personal fees from Staar Surgical, Santen Pharmaceutical, Otsuka Pharmaceutical, Carl Zeiss Meditec, and Johnson & Johnson, outside the submitted work. The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work.

Additional information

Funding

The authors did not receive any funding relevant to this study.