by Joel Harrison
23. April 2011 13:48
Even though ophthalmologists and other eye care practitioners keep warning patients that failure to comply with the basic rules related to wearing contact lenses may result in a number of serious complications, the problem still seems surprisingly common. The editors of Contact Lenses Today decided to examine one of the most serious such complications – infiltrative keratitis.
They carried out a poll among eye care professionals and published its results on the magazine’s website. 56% of the respondents stated that the number of infiltrative keratitis cases they encountered had not changed (or even decreased), while 44% replied that the number had risen.
In addition, the poll included questions concerning the causes of the condition. Here, the results were unequivocal: the vast majority of the respondents believed that the main cause of infiltrative keratitis was patient non-compliance. Other factors – the characteristics of contact lens materials and solutions – turned out to be much less important.
The results of the poll emphasise how important it is to provide patients with adequate information and – on the patients’ part – to follow the instructions.
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