The Effect of Soft Contact Lenses During the Measurement of Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness Using Optical Coherence Tomography

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate if the measurement of retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness using optical coherence tomography (OCT) is affected by soft contact lens wear. Methods: This prospective, observational, cross-sectional clinical study looked at 66 eyes in 66 patients who usually wear soft contact lenses everyday and 36 eyes in 36 patients who did not wear contact lenses during the 6 months prior to the study. No patients had pre-existing retinal or optic nerve pathology or other media opacities that might influence the RNFL thickness. All eyes were scanned using the fast RNFL program of the Stratus OCT with and without soft contact lenses on. Results: The mean RNFL thickness in eyes with and without soft contact lenses was 99.4 9.7 (SD) m and 100.8 10.3 m, respectively, in contact lens wearers. The mean RNFL thickness in eyes with and without soft contact lenses was 102.8 10.8 m and 105.3 9.9 m, respectively, in non-contact lens wearers. The mean RNFL thickness in eyes with and without soft contact lenses was significantly different in both groups of patients (p = 0.006, p = 0.001, respectively). The average RNFL thickness without soft contact lenses was statistically significantly increased in non-contact wearers compared with soft contact lens wearers (p = 0.035). Conclusions: Soft contact lenses may affect the measurement of RNFL thickness using OCT. It is recommended that clinicians be careful in measuring RNFL thickness using OCT with myopic patients using soft contact lenses.