Compliance versus risk awareness with contact lens storage case hygiene and replacement

Significance: Compliance with hygiene and replacement of contact lens storage cases is key to avoid contact lens contamination and anterior ocular surface complications. However, compliance levels with these accessories remain low, even in patients with awareness of the risk associated with non-compliance. Purpose: To determine level of compliance with common practices regarding contact lens (CL) storage case hygiene and replacement, type of information provided by practitioners and risk perception. Methods: An ad hoc self-reported survey was used to collect demographic and CL wear details, compliance with storage case care, type of received information and risk perception (in a 1-to-5 scale). Inferential statistics explored the relationship of demographic details and type of received information with compliance and risk perception. Results: Non-daily disposable wearing participants returned 299 completed surveys, with a median age of 24 years (76.9% females). Monthly replacement silicone hydrogel CLs and multipurpose solutions were predominant. Self-reported compliance with storage case care was poor, with 19.1% of respondents never cleaning their cases, 68.6% exposing them to tap water, and 26.4% failing to replace them within 6 months of acquisition. Two-thirds of respondents received specific information on case maintenance, mainly in oral form. Perceived risk associated with poor-compliance practices was high (median values of 4 and 5), and increased with educational level (P= .02, regarding hand-washing; P= .03, regarding case hygiene), years of CL wear experience (P< .001, regarding hand-washing) and in those patients provided with specific information on CL case care (P= .01, regarding case replacement). Conclusions: Compliance with CL storage case hygiene and replacement was generally poor, although awareness of risk associated with non-compliance was high and influenced by factors related to demographic details, contact lens experience and patient-practitioner communication. Strategies must be explored to increase risk awareness through education as this may lead to better compliance practices.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft