COMPARISON OF THE TEAR FILM STABILITY AND COMFORT LEVELS OF A NOVEL AND TWO CONVENTIONAL DAILY DISPOSABLE CONTACT LENSES IN HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS WHO HAD TO WEAR FACIAL MASKS FOR PROLONGED PERIOD OF TIME.

Due to the Covid -19 pandemic, the need for switching glasses to contact lenses (CLs) was more common for healthcare professionals due to fogging and sterilization problems. We aimed to clarify the most appropriate daily disposable contact lens (DDCL) material in terms of tear film stabilization and ocular comfort levels for prolonged use.

A randomized, prospective and comparative study.

The healthcare professionals between 18-40 years old who wanted to wear CL as first-time users were randomly included to the 3 study groups (group 1: verofilcon A, Precision 1^®, Alcon, group 2: nesofilcon A, Biotrue^® Oneday, B&L, and group 3: senofilcon A, Acuvue Oasys^®1-Day, J&J.  The patients were evaluated initially and after 2 weeks of CL use with contact lens corrected visual acuity (CLCVA), keratometry, non-invasive tear break up time (NITBUT) scores at first, 4^th, 8^th, and 12^th hours, high order aberrations (HoAs) scores obtained from Sirius Corneal Topography, and Contact Lens Dry Eye Questionnaire-8 (CLDEQ-8) scores for comparative analysis.

Between August and September 2021, 65 eyes of 33 subjects included to the three study groups of the ongoing study completed the final visit. The initial CLCVA, keratometry, NITBUT and HoAs mean values were similar. After 2 weeks of CL use; the measurements were evaluated while the contact lenses were on the ocular surface. The mean values of CLCVA, keratometry, NITBUT and HoAs at first and 4^th hours of wearing CLs were similar again. At the 8^th hours of wearing CLs the mean NIBUT scores (Group1: 10.23 seconds (sec), Group 2: 9.74 sec, Group 3: 8.15 sec) were lower in group 3 (p= 0.027). However, at the 12^th hours the mean scores of NITBUT scores were recorded as 8.72 sec in group 1, 5.91 sec in group 2 and 4.06 sec in group 3, and statistically meaningfully higher in group 1 according to the other two groups (p=0.016). The mean HoAs scores were similar at 8^th hours but at 12^th hours group 3 had the highest scores (p=0.036) and the group 1 had slightly lower scores than group 2 (p=0.067). The CLDEQ-8 scores were significantly lower in group 1 and group 2 (6.18, 7.23 and 9,82, respectively). (p=0.042)

The preliminary results of the ongoing study suggest superiority of the tear film stabilization capability of verofilcon A in prolonged use. The better scores of this lens at the 12^th hours could be explained with a new and unique surface technology named SMARTSURFACE™ presenting a greater than 80% water content to maintain a stable pre-lens tear film. The higher CLDEQ-8 and HoAs scores of nesofilcon A could be depending on to the higher dehydration rates of the hydrogel CL materials compared to the silicon hydrogels CLs.