In a survey of parents of vision-corrected children ages 8 to 17 who don't wear contact lenses, 56% reported they have never considered contact lenses for their child. The survey was conducted by Fairfield Research among members of the Good Housekeeping Reader Advisory Panel on behalf of Vistakon.
     Four-in-10 parents responding to the survey say that they are not comfortable with contact lenses for children. Two contributing factors to parents unwillingness to consider contact lenses include that 77% think that spectacles are easier to keep clean and care for than contact lenses and 54% are concerned about their child's ability to take care of their lenses. Forty-two percent of respondents, however, say they have no real worries about their child wearing contacts. Two-thirds of respondents report that whatever their practitioner recommends is the right choice for their child's vision correction. However, 62% believe that the choice for vision correction should correspond with what the child wants.

ISTA Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced positive preliminary Phase 3 results for its Xibrom (bromfenac ophthalmic solution) 0.09% QD confirmatory clinical study. The drug achieved statistical significance in the study's primary endpoint, the absence of ocular inflammation 15 days following cataract surgery, and the secondary endpoint, the elimination of ocular pain one day post surgery. During the study, no serious ocular or systemic adverse events occurred.
     In December 2008, ISTA announced integrated results from two Phase 3 studies with Xibrom 0.09% QD. Based on the results of the studies, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) required ISTA to conduct an additional confirmatory study with Xibrom 0.09% QD. The current study confirms the efficacy and safety of Xibrom 0.09% QD which was previously demonstrated in an identical Phase 3 clinical trial in 2008. Once the company completes its analysis of the full dataset, ISTA expects to file a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) with the FDA before the end of 2009, seeking approval of the Xibrom 0.09% formulation for once-daily treatment for the inflammation and pain following cataract surgery.

ACUVUE^® DIRECT^™ simply delivers convenience and affordability for your contact lens patients. With ACUVUE^® DIRECT^™ , patients purchase an annual supply of contact lenses, reducing upfront costs while receiving year-long benefits. They will appreciate the convenience of free home delivery: four times a year, ACUVUE^® DIRECT^™ ships a 3-month supply directly to their home. ACUVUE^® DIRECT^™ also saves time for your staff, since they no longer need to reorder lenses during the year. Patients also receive quarterly tips on healthy wear, plus a year-end reminder to return to your office for their annual eye exam. ACUVUE^® DIRECT^™ means increased patient loyalty, improved patient compliance, and decreased office time from reordering lenses.

Ask your sales representative or call 1-800-874-5278 to register for ACUVUE^® DIRECT^™ .
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When NASA launches the Space Shuttle Discovery on Mission STS-128 to the International Space Station, on board the shuttle will be a device created by Paul Filar, OD, of Sturgeon Bay,Wis. The Provizion Anterior Segment and Retinal Camera Attachment allows for telemedicine and photo-documentation of the eyeball. Images and video clips from Dr. Filar's camera can be sent around the world, or in this case, to Earth from Space. The camera attachment is a compact, portable, digital camera that fits onto a PanOptic Ophthalmoscope. The camera attachment is scheduled to be left on the International Space Station as a medical tool for any ophthalmology needs that may arise.
     Dr. Filar was inspired to develop the Anterior Segment and Retinal Camera attachment because he travels to a nursing home and also rural community Wisconsin to see patients. "I am extremely excited and proud about the opportunity to work with NASA in this unique capacity", Dr. Filar says. "It is amazing that my product will soon be up in space assisting astronauts at the International Space Station!"

The National Eye Institute (NEI) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are sponsoring an October 13 conference to determine how vision-related patient-reported outcomes might be used to improve medical product labeling in ophthalmology. Discussions will include what is known about patient reported outcomes and clinical trial design issues relevant to patient reported outcomes intended to support product labeling.
     This meeting is part of an NEI/FDA series of Endpoints Symposia managed by the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO). For more information visit www.arvo.org/ for more information.

The Educational Program Committee of the Global Specialty Lens Symposium invites the submission of abstracts for the Free Paper Section to be held January 28-31, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Papers related to presbyopia, keratoconus, corneal topography, post penetrating keratoplasty or related irregular corneal surface, myopia control, ortho-k and lens care topics are welcome.
     Those interested in submitting free papers or posters to the Global Specialty Lens Symposium can visit www.GSLSymposium.com for more information. Web submissions only. Deadline for submissions is Monday, August 31, 2009.

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In a double-masked randomized controlled crossover study researchers investigated both the retinal responses to straylight, and the effects of lens cleaners on straylight values, in two different GP lens materials.
     Thirty patients (20-59 years) wearing GP lenses were refitted with new lenses made of Boston XO material (Bausch & Lomb) in one eye and one made of Comfort O2 (ONSI-56) material (David Thomas) in the other eye. Reported wetting angles for the Boston XO material (103 degrees ) and for the ONSI-56 material (7.2 degrees ) were obtained by sessile drop measurements. After refitting, the study comprised three five-week trial periods. In Period 1 half of the participants (Group A) wore Boston XO lenses in their right eye and Comfort O2 (ONSI-56) lenses in their left, and the other half (Group B) vice versa. In Period 2 Group A wore Comfort O2 (ONSI-56) lenses in their right eye and Boston XO lenses in their left, and Group B vice versa. All participants used Miraflow (CIBA Vision) cleaner during periods 1 and 2. In Period 3, during which all participants used Boston cleaner (B&L), Group A wore Boston XO lenses in their right eye and Comfort O2 (ONSI-56) lenses in their left eye and Group B vice versa. Straylight data (log S) were obtained with and without contact lenses using the Oculus C-Quant straylight meter in all three periods. Central corneal thickness (CCT) was measured in the second and third periods. When not wearing lenses (n = 60 eyes) at the end of the second five week trial period straylight was measured twice with averages of 1.07 log S, and the corrected CCT measurements averaged 546 mum. Straylight values with Comfort O2 (ONSI-56) reached 1.15 log S at the end of both the second (n = 25 eyes) and third periods (n = 23 eyes). Straylight values with Boston XO were 1.17 log S (n = 26 eyes) at the end of the second period, and 1.16 log S (n = 25 eyes) at the end of the third period.
     Researchers concluded existing GP lens wearers refitted with new lenses with different contact angles made of Boston XO and Comfort O2 (ONSI-56) showed, over the five week periods relatively small increases in straylight, which were functionally comparable, irrespective of lens material or lens cleaner. At every visit, straylight values and CCTs returned to baseline levels after GP lens removal, confirming that the straylight fluctuations were mainly due to scattering from the GP lenses; or tear film interaction; or a combination of both.

Fortuin MF, Schilperoort J, Evans BJ, Edgar DF, van den Berg TJ, Kiers H. Randomised controlled trial of the effects of two rigid gas permeable (RGP) contact lens materials and two surface cleaners on straylight values. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt 2009;29:497-508.

Peroxide solutions have been a consistent part in our management of the mildly irritated contact lens patient. While anecdotal, we have seen a majority of patients report symptomatic improvement when switching to peroxide. I have always recommended it as my system of choice after lens exposure to water (usually recreational) or soil. It has also seemed to solve many "allergic" cases. We tout the preservative free aspect of only putting saline on the eye as a motivational point. Finally, unless I am mistaken, I have understood the antimicrobial ability of peroxide to be more effective and broader spectrum than MPS.

Christopher R. Howard, O.D.
Crestview, FL

I wouldn't switch this patient to a hydrogen peroxide solution based on the little bit of information given, especially if there were no other indications to do so. It would depend on her age or if the patient suffered from allergies and if so is she on allergy medications. Also I'm assuming they did a BUT or other test for dryness.
     Hydrogen peroxide systems are great, as you know. Staining grids have shown this, but it does tend to be less user friendly than MPS. So, my answer, based on the facts you presented, would be no. Also, I'd try switching her to a lower water content lens, or a silicone hydrogel if possible before switching her solution.

Roger Manning
Austin, TX

Following up on my editorial from last week regarding the switching patients from MPS to hydrogen peroxide based solutions (http://www.cltoday.com/issues/CLToday_082309.htm), it was very evident that many of you are quite passionate about this topic based on the significant number of responses I received. In fact, nearly every response favored switching this patient to hydrogen peroxide. That being said, I am sure there are many of you out there who are happy with the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" philosophy, which is probably why you didn't write to me. I'd be interested in hearing from you if this is indeed the case (tips@CLtoday.com).

Jason J. Nichols, OD, MPH, PhD, FAAO

This month at www.siliconehydrogels.org: adverse events with daily wear of silicone hydrogels, SEALs with extended wear, controlling case contamination, contact lens complications, and part two of our AAO 2008 synopsis.