A clinical method for predicting the success of orthokeratology treatment phase II

Orthokeratology is a method of fitting rigid contact lenses in a progression in order to change the cornea\u27s radius of curvature, resulting in an improvement in uncorrected visual acuity. The usefulness of orthokeratology for most patients will depend on both the magnitude of myopia reduction and the amount of time he or she must wear a retainer lens to maintain that change. This study is an attempt to create a simple and clinically practical procedure to predict which patients will require the least amount of retainer lens wear while maintaining optimal visual acuity, and is divided into two phases. Phase I of this study revealed a significant difference between subjects\u27 refractive error changes after undergoing short-term orthokeratology lens wear. In Phase II, ten patients from Phase I were selected to receive the orthokeratology treatment. After patients achieved minimal wear time of their orthokeratology retainer lenses, a comparison of visual acuity retention time and the initial changes in refractive condition found in Phase I was statistically correlated. Statistical analysis revealed no significant difference between visual acuity retention time and the changes in refractive condition found in Phase I. However, the results of this study might be more promising if a larger and more controlled subject pool was incorporated