Evaluation Of Corneal Staining And Comfort Associated With Opti-Free Versus Biotrue Multipurpose Contact Lens Solutions

The purpose of this research study is to evaluate the amount and distribution of corneal
staining due to multipurpose contact lens solution (MPS) exposure. The two solutions
that were compared are Opti-Free Replenish (Alcon) and Biotrue (Bausch & Lomb).
Staining was evaluated after thirty minutes of contact lens wear, instead of a two hour
time interval that has been utilized in prior studies. Recent research has shown that
different components of MPS are released for the same contact lens at different rates and the manufacturer states that this is the reason for some MPS having excessive staining at two hours. It has also been stated that the different MPS would cause equal staining amounts if the cornea were to be evaluated at a shorter time period. In this study several subjects wore two contact lenses made of the same material, with one lens being presoaked in Opti-Free for 24 hours and the other lens presoaked in Biotrue solution for 24 hours. After thirty minutes of wear time, the contacts were removed and the amount of corneal staining was objectively evaluated. After this initial visit the subjects continued to store the contact lenses in the two solutions for two additional weeks. At the conclusion of the two week time period, a survey was completed to evaluate how comfort differed between the two lenses based on the solutions used. At the conclusion of this study it was found that the amount of corneal staining at thirty minutes is significantly different than the staining observed at two hours.