title: The relationship between compliance with lens replacement and contact lens-related problems in silicone hydrogel wearers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the relationship between compliance with replacement frequency (RF) and contact lens (CL)-related problems in silicone hydrogel (SiHy) wearers.
  
  
  METHODS
  501 SiHy wearers from seven optometry offices completed surveys regarding their lens wear and any CL related problems which they may have experienced in the preceding 12 months. File review was subsequently conducted at their optometry offices to confirm the information provided.
  
  
  RESULTS
  49% of respondents were wearing 2-week replacement (2WR) and 51% 1-month replacement (1MR) SiHy lenses. 67% wore their lenses for longer than the manufacturers' recommended RF (MRRF) and 60% for longer than their optometrist's recommended RF (ORRF). The mean RF was 2.6× the MRRF for 2WR and 1.5× for 1MR wearers (p<0.001) with median values of 31 and 37 days, respectively. Twenty-three percent reported signs or symptoms consistent with potential complications relating to CL wear. This rate was significantly higher for wearers who were non-compliant with the ORRF than compliant wearers (26% versus 18%, p=0.028). It was also higher for those multipurpose solution users who reported never/almost never rubbing and rinsing their lenses when compared with those who did this every night (29% versus 17%, p=0.007).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Two thirds of the SiHy wearers did not comply with the MRRF and 2WR wearers stretched the replacement interval of their lenses to a greater degree than 1MR wearers. Failing to replace lenses when recommended and failing to rub and rinse lenses were associated with a higher rate of patient-reported CL problems.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Contact Lens Research, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. kdumble@uwaterloo.ca
authors.forename: Kathryn A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Dumbleton
authors.forename: Craig A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Woods
authors.forename: Lyndon W
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Desmond
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fonn
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003262:Contact Lenses, Extended-Wear / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004209:Disposable Equipment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance; D012828:Silicones; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D012828:Silicones