Despite being one of the most common causes of dropout, contact lens discomfort (CLD) remains poorly understood.
To better grasp its causes and treatment, the Tear Film & Ocular Surface Society (TFOS) organized the TFOS International Workshop on Contact Lens Discomfort. “The time was right to move the field forward by taking steps to bring global consensus to our current understanding of this condition,” notes an introductory comment.
The 18-month workshop employed 79 experts from around the world. The findings, reported in the October 2013 Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, cover a range of topics (e.g., epidemiology, contact lens materials, neurobiology and lens interactions with the ocular surface and tear film).
Surprisingly, the researchers found very little evidence linking contact lens materials to CLD; nevertheless, contact lens wearers who already experience discomfort may benefit from a change in lens material.
When examining contact lens-associated changes to the ocular surface and the adnexa, the researchers found that meibomian gland dysfunction and lid wiper epitheliopathy exhibit the strongest link to CLD.
The researchers plan to conduct further studies to continue to understand the causes of CLD and treatment options for the condition, but this report helps to gain a better understanding of a condition that has caused a number of contact lens wearers to discontinue use.
The full report is available at
http://www.iovs.org/content/54/11.toc.
