Ulcerative keratitis from overnight contact lens wear compared with other life risks.
Wearers of extended wear contact lenses are at increased risk for ulcerative keratitis compared with daily wear contact lens users. Using incidence rates, we compared ulcerative keratitis in contact lens wear with other diseases and serious life risks. "Comparative risk," a theoretical construct for this paper, is a framework through which the incidence rates are compared. Although the risks of ulcerative keratitis in extended wear are greater than with daily wear contact lenses, the risks of extended soft contact lens wear are 2-10 times less than the risks for non-fatal, serious and disruptive occurrences in a general population. Contact lens associated ulcerative keratitis is in the range of 10-20 times greater than the incidence of common causes of death in a low risk, middle-age population.
Myers
R I
RI
School of Optometry, University of Missouri, St. Louis, MO 63121.
Weiss
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E
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003262:Contact Lenses, Extended-Wear / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003320:Corneal Ulcer / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology