title: Initial comfort of lotrafilcon A silicone hydrogel contact lenses versus etafilcon A contact lenses for extended wear.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the initial comfort afforded by silicone hydrogel lenses (lotrafilcon A) versus the comfort afforded by conventional hydrogel lenses (etafilcon A) in extended wear (EW).
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective, double-masked and randomized controlled trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  Lotrafilcon A and etafilcon A contact lenses were eye randomly fitted on an EW basis for 7 days and nights in 20 subjects. A forced-choice subject preference questionnaire was made. Subjects were comfort, dryness, red eye and visual quality after night wear and at the end of the day. Subjective scored satisfaction (scale: 1-5) and lens preference were assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Lotrafilcon A proved more comfortable after night wear (60%, CI95% 38-82%) and at the end of the day (70%, CI95% 49-90%) than etafilcon A after night wear (10%, CI95% 0-23%, P<0.05) and at the end of the day (20%, CI95% 2-38%, P<0.05). The feeling of dryness was more marked with etafilcon A after night wear (50%, CI95% 27-72%) and at the end of the day (50%, CI95% 27-72%) than it was with lotrafilcon A (15%, CI95% 0%-31%) after night wear (P>0.05) and at the end of the day (25%, CI95% 5%-44%, P<0.05). General satisfaction with the lotrafilcon A lens was 3.65 points (CI95% 3-4.2) and with etafilcon A 2.95 points (CI95% 2.5-3.3, P<0.05). Eighty percent (CI95% 62%-98%) of subjects preferred lotrafilcon A (P<0.05) for EW.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In EW, lotrafilcon A contact lenses were more comfortable and led to less dryness after night wear and at the end of the day than etafilcon A contact lenses.
authors.affiliation: IOBA Eye Institute and School of Optometry, Department of Physics TAO, University of Valladolid, C/Ramón y Cajal, 7 E-47005 Valladolid, Spain. raul@ioba.med.uva.es
authors.forename: Raul
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: de Juan
authors.forename: Guadalupe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.forename: Sofia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Soraya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fonseca
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003262:Contact Lenses, Extended-Wear / Q000592:standards*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D020100:Hydrogels; D008297:Male; D008689:Methacrylates; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012030:Refractive Errors / Q000628:therapy*; D012828:Silicones; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014792:Visual Acuity; D005466:Fluorocarbons
chemical_list: D020100:Hydrogels; D008689:Methacrylates; D012828:Silicones; C114176:etafilcon; C481129:lotrafilcon A; D005466:Fluorocarbons