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Song, Lee, Chang, Ha, Kim, and Kim: The Effects of Cheap Tinted Contact Lenses on Corneal Swelling and Ocular Surface Inflammation
Original Article

J Korean Ophthalmol Soc 2008;49(12):1888-1893.

Published online: 7 September 2008

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3341/jkos.2008.49.12.1888

The Effects of Cheap Tinted Contact Lenses on Corneal Swelling and Ocular Surface Inflammation

Jong-Suk Song, M.D., Ph.D., Hwa Lee, M.D., Mun Hee Chang, M.D., Suk Kyu Ha, M.D., Hyo-Myung Kim, M.D., Ph.D., Jung Wan Kim, M.D., Ph.D.

Department of Ophthalmology, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

Address reprint requests to Jong-Suk Song, M.D., Ph.D. Department of Ophthalmology, Guro Hospital, Korea University College of Medicine #97 Guro-dong-gil, Guro-gu, Seoul 152-703, Korea Tel: 82-2-2626-3178, Fax: 82-2-857-8580, E-mail: crisim@korea.ac.kr

Received 16 September 2008       Accepted 30 June 2008

Copyright © 2008 Korean Ophthalmological Society

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Purpose

To evaluate the effects of cheap tinted contact lenses on corneal swelling and ocular surface inflammation, compared to hydrogel and silicone hydrogel contact lenses.

Methods

Forty eyes of 20 New Zealand white rabbits were randomly assigned to 4 groups. Two types of tinted contact lenses, hydrogel lenses, and silicone hydrogel lenses were each applied to 10 rabbit eyes. Corneal thickness and tear lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity were measured at 1 and 4 days after contact lens wear, and the inflammation of ocular surface was scored at 4 days after contact lens wear. The internal surface of the cheap tinted lens was examined with a scanning electron microscope to compare the surface quality between the tinted and non-tinted area.

Results

Although the corneal swelling of the silicone hydrogel lens group was significantly lower than the other 3 lens groups after contact lens wear ( p<0.01), the common hydrogel lens group was not different from the 2 tinted contact lens groups ( p>0.1). Tear LDH activity at 1 and 4 days after contact lens wear showed no significant difference among the 4 groups ( p>0.29). The scores of ocular surface inflammation in the 2 tinted contact lens groups were greater than the hydrogel and silicone hydrogel lens groups ( p=0.03). The scanning electron microscope revealed the internal surface of the tinted area in the tinted contact lens was coarse and irregular though the surface of the non-tinted area was relatively smooth.

Conclusions

Regarding corneal swelling and tear LDH activity, the cheap tinted contact lenses used in Korea were not significantly different from the common hydrogel contact lenses. However, tinted contact lenses showed a greater tendency to provoke ocular surface inflammation than other lenses. The coarse and irregular surface of the tinted area in the tinted contact lens appears to play a role in provoking severe ocular surface inflammation.

Keywords: Corneal swelling, Lactate dehydrogenase, Ocular surface inflammation, Scanning electron microscope, Tinted contact lens

References

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Figure 1.
The changes in corneal swelling after contact lens wear in the four groups.
jkos-49-1888f1.tif
Figure 2.
Photographs of corneal epithelial defects at 4 days after contact lens wear. (A) Large epithelial defect (grade 3) is shown in the color lens 1 group. (B) Small epithelial defect (grade 1) is observed in the hydrogel lens group.
jkos-49-1888f2.tif
Figure 3.
Scanning electron micrographs of the internal surface of a color contact lens (×100). (A) The surface of non-tinted area in the color lens is smooth. (B) The surface of tinted area is coarse and irregular.
jkos-49-1888f3.tif
Table 1.
Characteristics of four soft contact lenses
Group Base Curve Diameter Thickness Water content Dk/t value∗
Color lens 1 8.6 mm 14 mm 0.178 mm 38 % 13
Color lens 2 8.4 mm 14 mm 0.088 mm 35 % 10
Hydrogel lens 8.5 mm 14 mm 0.134 mm 38 % 15
Silicone hydrogel lens 8.4 mm 14 mm 0.063 mm 51 % 52

∗ Oxygen transmissibility (unit: ×10-9 (cm/sec)(mLO2/mL mmHg)).

Table 2.
Comparison of tear lactate dehydrogenase activities (U/L) among the four groups
Group Color lens 1 Color lens 2 Hydrogel lens Silicone hydrogel lens p value†
Before CL∗ wear 255 (±236.5) U/L 151 (±78.7) U/L 203 (±178.5) U/L 171 (±125.3) U/L 0.528
1 day after CL wear 506 (±492.5) U/L 431 (±244.8) U/L 334 (±196.7) U/L 398 (±288.1) U/L 0.743
4 days after CL wear 354 (±132.1) U/L 272 (±129.9) U/L 306 (±174.2) U/L 216 (±101.7) U/L 0.163
p value† 0.240 0.003 0.279 0.031

∗ CL=contact lens;

† one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA).

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