A survey of contact lens complications in Singapore.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the type of complications related to contact lens wear seen in a hospital setting in Singapore. METHODS: Data were collated over a 2-year period from April 1999 to March 2001, from all public hospitals in Singapore. A standardized clinical record form was completed by the attending doctor when a patient presented for contact lens-related complications. RESULTS: Nine hundred and fifty-three contact lens-related complications were recorded. The mean age of presentation was 26.4 years. Women made up the majority n=491 (68%). Most patients were Chinese (555, 77%). Six hundred and seventy-six (93.7%) patients were soft contact lens wearers. Most patients, 585 patients (85.2%) wore their lenses on a daily basis. Two hundred and forty-four cases (25.6%) of infective keratitis were seen, with 55 patients requiring hospital admission for management of the infection. Soft disposable contact lens wear was associated with the majority of the infective keratitis (178, 73%). Epithelial keratitis occurred in 229 patients (24.0%) with punctuate epithelial erosions being the commonest presentation in 139 (14.6%). Allergic conjunctivitis occurred in 179 (18.8%) of the cases with giant papillary conjunctivitis accounting for 147 (15.4%) of them. Dry eyes (77, 8.1%), sterile infiltrates (71, 7.5%) and neovascularization of the cornea (75, 7.9%) were the next commonest complications seen. Corneal edema, solution- and lens-related complications occurred in small numbers, accounting for less than 5% of the complications reported. CONCLUSION: Infective keratitis secondary to soft lens wear was the most common complication, followed by epithelial keratitis and allergic conjunctivitis seen in public hospitals in Singapore.

Bleb related infections: clinical characteristics, risk factors, and outcomes in an Asian population.

PURPOSE: Comparison of the demographic, ocular, systemic and microbiological characteristics of eyes with bleb related infection (BRI) and bleb related endophthalmitis (BRE). METHODS: Retrospective chart review of patients with BRI from January 1996-July 2013. Identification done via the center's longstanding endophthalmitis audit, BRI audit and laboratory database identifying all conjunctival swabs from blebs. Blebitis was defined as anterior segment inflammation with mucopurulent material in or around the bleb, with anterior chamber cells but no hypopyon. BRE was defined by the presence of hypopyon or vitreous inflammation. RESULTS: Twenty-nine patients with blebitis and 10 with BRE were identified. Mean age of subjects (n=39) was 68.4 (±13.3) with a preponderance of men (74.4%) and Chinese ethnicity (74.4%). BRE patients were 10.7 years older than blebitis patients (P=0.026). 28 (71.8%) subjects had primary open angle glaucoma. The presenting intraocular pressure (IOP) dropped in blebitis but almost doubled in BRE (P=0.011) compared to average preinfective IOP. Two weeks after treatment, IOPs in both groups returned to close to preinfective levels. Subjects with blebitis more often had an avascular bleb (88.0%) while those with BRE trended toward a moderately vascular bleb (50%). The distribution of causative microorganisms between the groups was similar. CONCLUSION: Our study indicates that risk factors are similar in both groups even though the visual outcome and clinical course, in the form of IOP findings and bleb vascularity, can diverge significantly. The decreased IOP in blebitis subjects represents objective evidence of subclinical leaks or bleb sweating.

A randomized trial of rigid gas permeable contact lenses to reduce progression of children's myopia.

PURPOSE: To test whether rigid gas permeable (RGP) contact lens wear can reduced the rate of myopia progression in school age children. DESIGN: Randomized clinical trial. SETTING: Single clinical center. STUDY POPULATION: Both eyes of 428 Singaporean children. INCLUSION CRITERIA: 6 through 12 years of age with myopia between -1 and -4 diopters, astigmatism

Visual function and outcomes after cataract surgery in a Singapore population.

PURPOSE: To identify the predictors of visual outcomes (visual acuity and visual function) in cataract surgery patients in Singapore and compare the visual outcomes of phacoemulsification and extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE). SETTING: Singapore National Eye Center, Singapore, Republic of Singapore. METHODS: The visual function was measured by the VF-14 and visual acuity in the operated and the better eye in 460 systematically sampled cataract surgery patients preoperatively and 3 months after surgery. Several patient- and surgery-related predictive factors were recorded. RESULTS: After cataract surgery, 85.1% of patients reported improved visual acuity in the operated eye and 77.6% reported improved visual function. Patients with poorer visual acuity and visual function at baseline reported greater improvements in visual acuity and visual function. Patients who had phacoemulsification had better final visual function (P =.006) and better final visual acuity (P <.001) scores. In multiple linear regression models, final visual function was better in patients without preexisting eye disease and with better baseline visual function, and final visual acuity in the operated eye was better in patients who were younger, were better educated, had no preexisting conditions or postoperative complications, and had a better baseline visual acuity. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with poorer baseline visual acuity or who had no preexisting eye disease reported more improvement in visual acuity in the operated eye. Several factors including no preexisting eye disease were associated with better final visual acuity and visual function scores.

Infectious keratitis associated with daily disposable contact lenses.

PURPOSE: To report two cases of infectious keratitis associated with the use of daily disposable soft contact lenses. METHOD: Two case reports of individuals who developed infectious keratitis while wearing daily disposable soft contact lenses are presented. RESULTS: The first case is that of a 34-year-old woman who had been using daily disposable soft contact lenses for 18 months before she developed a corneal ulcer in her left eye. The cultures grew Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and she was treated successfully with fortified topical antibiotics. The second case describes a 30-year-old woman who had been using conventional soft contact lenses for 5 years before switching to daily disposable soft contact lenses 3 months before presentation. She was found to have a corneal ulcer in her left eye that grew Staphylococcus aureus on cultures, and she responded to topical antibiotic treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Although daily disposable soft contact lenses theoretically have a lower risk of infectious keratitis compared with other lens wear regimens, reports have shown that at least some risk remains. These lenses should be prescribed and used with great care to minimize contact lens-related infectious keratitis.