A 3-year Prospective Study of the Clinical Performance of Daily Disposable Contact Lenses Compared with Frequent Replacement and Conventional Daily Wear Contact Lenses

Purpose: To determine the clinical performance of daily disposable contact lens wear compared to conventional daily wear contact lenses and frequent replacement contact lenses.

Methods: This 3-year prospective study was conducted in 12 U.S. practices. Of 338 eligible subjects enrolled (126 conventional daily wear, 144 frequent replacement, and 68 daily disposable), 229 subjects disposable group were compared with the conventional daily wear group and two sub-groups of frequent replacement subjects: (a) those with replacement at 2-weak intervals and (b) those with replacement at 1 or 3 months.

Results: Comparing the daily disposable and conventional daily wear groups, the daily disposable subjects were more likely to be asymptomatic, reported fewer symptoms of redness, cloudy vision and grittiness/dirty sensation, reported better vision and overall satisfaction, and had fewer lens surface deposits, complications, tarsal abnormalities, and unscheduled visits, while conventional daily wear subjects reported better lens handling. Comparing the daily disposable and frequent replacement (1/3 months) groups, daily disposable subjects reported fewer symptoms of foreign body sensation, redness, cloudy vision and grittiness/dirty sensation, reported better subjective vision, comfort and overall satisfaction, and has fewer lens surface deposits, complications, and tarsal abnormalities, while frequent replacement (1/3 months) subjects reported fewer dryness symptoms and better lens handling. Comparing the daily disposable and frequent replacement (2-weeks) groups, daily disposable subjects reported better subjective vision and overall satisfaction and had fewer lens surface deposits and tarsal abnormalities, while frequent replacement (2-weeks) subjects reported fewer photophobia symptoms.

Conclusions: The results indicate that daily disposable wear may be the most trouble-free way of wearing contact lenses.