title: Factors influencing the prescribing of hydrogel contact lenses.
abstract: Despite the current market popularity of silicone hydrogel contact lenses, conventional hydrogel lenses still represent a significant proportion of the overall contact lens market. Data gathered from annual UK contact lens fitting surveys over the past 13 years indicate that 64% of hydrogel lenses prescribed during this period were of low/medium water content (< or =60% water). Whereas, in the past, practitioners would choose the water content of a hydrogel lens to meet specific clinical needs, this choice appears today to be largely governed by product availability.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, and School of Optometry, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Queensland 4059, Australia. n.efron@qut.edu.au
authors.forename: Nathan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Efron
authors.forename: Philip B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Morgan
mesh_terms: D003263:Contact Lenses, Hydrophilic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D020100:Hydrogels; D009907:Optometry / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055656:Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017755:Prosthesis Fitting / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012030:Refractive Errors / Q000534:rehabilitation* / Q000628:therapy*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D020100:Hydrogels