Bandage contact lens retention in dogs-A pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess and compare retention, application characteristics, and patient tolerance of nine bandage contact lens types from four manufacturers. ANIMALS STUDIED: Six research Beagles were used in this pilot study. PROCEDURE: Five bandage contact lens types from two veterinary brands and four bandage contact lens types from two human brands were evaluated in six research Beagles. Placement ease, the dogs' contact lens tolerance, and contact lens retention time for up to 14 days were recorded. Statistical analysis with a linear mixed model was performed. RESULTS: Veterinary contact lenses had an average retention time of 0.4 days (range 0-7 days, with an average of 10% and 3% retained ≥1 and ≥7 days, respectively), while human contact lenses had a significantly (P < 0.0001) longer average retention time of 5.2 days (range 0-14 days, with an average of 83% and 37.5% retained ≥1 and ≥7 days, respectively). Specifically, Johnson and Johnson Vision Care Acuvue® Oasys™ with Hydraclear™ Plus lenses were retained significantly longer than all veterinary lenses, and Bausch and Lomb PureVision® 2 lenses were retained significantly longer than Keragenix HydroBlues™ 18 and AnimaLens™ HRT 78 18 mm lenses. CONCLUSION: Although all bandage contact lenses were easy to use and well tolerated by the dogs, the human lenses were retained significantly better and longer than the veterinary lenses. Additionally, human lenses were retained significantly better and longer than veterinary lenses of similar measurements. This suggests factors other than measurement and associated fit may determine contact lens retention time.