Biomedical subjects

B Caffery

Publications and source records attributed to B Caffery.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Characterization of ocular surface symptoms from optometric practices in North America.

PURPOSE: This study characterized ocular symptoms typical of dry eye in an unselected optometric clinical population in the United States and Canada. METHODS: Self-administered dry eye questionnaires, one for non-contact lens wearers (dry eye questionnaire) and one for contact lens wearers (contact lens dry eye questionnaire), were completed at six clinical sites in North America. Both questionnaires included categoric scales to measure the prevalence, frequency, diurnal severity, and intrusiveness of nine ocular surface symptoms. The questionnaires also asked how much these ocular symptoms affected daily activities and contained questions about computer use, medications, and allergies. The examining doctors, who were masked to questionnaire responses, recorded a nondirected dry eye diagnosis for each patient, based on their own diagnostic criteria. RESULTS: The dry eye questionnaires were completed by 1,054 patients. The most common ocular symptom was discomfort, with 64% of non--contact lens wearers and 79% of contact lens wearers reporting the symptom at least infrequently. There was a diurnal increase in the intensity of many symptoms, with symptoms such as discomfort, dryness, and visual changes reported to be more intense in the evening. The 22% percent of non-contact lens wearers and 15% of contact lens wearers diagnosed with dry eye (most in the mild to moderate categories) reported symptoms at a greater frequency than those not diagnosed with dry eye. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that symptoms of ocular irritation and visual disturbances were relatively common in this unselected clinical population. The intensity of many ocular symptoms increased late in the day, which suggested that environmental factors played a role in the etiology of the symptoms.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2000

Responses of contact lens wearers to a dry eye survey.

The purpose of this study was to examine ocular symptoms that have been associated with dry eye among contact lens wearers. A dry eye questionnaire was administered at random to 83 contact lens wearers at a private practice in Toronto, Ontario. On average, the most frequent ocular symptom among those queried was dryness and the least frequent was soreness. There was a significant shift (p < 0.0001; paired t-test) toward increased symptoms in the evening compared with the morning. Blurry, changeable vision was also a frequent and noticeable symptom. However, most subjects reported that their ocular symptoms were not severe enough for them to stop work or hobbies or to remove their contact lenses. Our results show that the symptoms of ocular dryness and discomfort are relatively common among contact lens wearers, and that they worsen toward the end of the day. These findings suggest that lens care practitioners should examine their patients who wear contact lenses toward the end of the day to best identify symptomatic patients.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1999

Symptoms of ocular irritation in patients diagnosed with dry eye.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop a pilot survey to evaluate ocular irritation symptom frequency, severity, and impact on daily activity in patients previously diagnosed with dry eye. METHODS: Forty-five patients previously diagnosed with dry eye (ICD-9 code 375.15) completed the 17-item symptom survey. Analog-scale response questions concerning the frequency, severity, and effect on daily activity were asked for the following symptoms: dryness, scratchiness and soreness, burning and stinging, light sensitivity, blurry vision, and ocular itching. RESULTS: Dryness and soreness were the most frequently reported symptoms of ocular irritation. Although the occurrence of symptoms of ocular irritation was reported as frequent by patients diagnosed with dry eye, the symptoms had minimal to moderate impact on daily activity. CONCLUSIONS: Patient expression of the symptoms of dryness and soreness at more frequent and/or more severe levels may lend more validity to a diagnosis of dry eye.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1999

Omafilcon A (Proclear) soft contact lenses in a dry eye population.

PURPOSE: We conducted a 3-month, randomized, comparative cross-over study to evaluate the clinical performance of lenses manufactured from omafilcon A on subjects with signs and symptoms of dry eye. The subjects' own daily wear soft lenses were used as controls. METHODS: Seventy-six subjects with objective evidence of dry eye, as defined in the NEI/Industry Workshop Report 1995, were fit with either the omafilcon A lenses (Proclear) or new control lenses. Subjects wore the lenses for 6 weeks and then crossed over to bilateral wear of the other lenses for an additional 6 weeks. During each part of the study, we examined subjects at 1 week, 1 month, and 6 weeks. Signs and symptoms of dry eye were evaluated, and on-eye dehydration of the lens was assessed. RESULTS: When the subjects were wearing the omafilcon A lenses, there was a statistically significant improvement in a number of subjective parameters including comfort, dryness, frequency of eye irritation, and frequency of burning. We found significantly less on-eye dehydration of the lens and fluorescein corneal staining with the omafilcon A lenses. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicated that the daily wear of omafilcon A lenses provided better comfort, fewer symptoms, less on-eye dehydration, and less fluorescein corneal staining than other soft daily wear contact lenses in subjects with mild to moderate dry eye.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1997

A patient questionnaire approach to estimating the prevalence of dry eye symptoms in patients presenting to optometric practices across Canada.

OBJECTIVE: To collect questionnaire data from patients in a large clinical population that would allow for an estimate of the prevalence of self-reported symptoms of dry eyes. METHODS: A 13-point questionnaire (The Canada Dry Eye Epidemiology Study, CANDEES) was mailed to all optometric practices in Canada in October 1994, with the request that it be completed by 30 successive nonselected patients. RESULTS: Four hundred fifty sets of questionnaires (total, 13,517) were analyzed (a 15.7% return rate) from patients aged from < 10 years to > 80 years; 55% were in the 21- to 50-year age group; 60.7% were female; and 24.3% were contact lens wearers. A total of 28.7% reported dry eye symptoms, of whom 24.2% reported concurrent dry mouth, 24.5% had worse symptoms in the morning, 30.3% reported concurrent lid problems, and 35.7% reported a history of allergies. Of the 3716 patients reporting symptoms, 62 (1.6%) were in the "severe" category and 290 (7.8%) were in the "constant but moderate" category. Contact lens wear, concurrent allergies, dry mouth, lid problems, or use of medications increased the chance of a patient reporting dry eye symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of patients reporting any level of symptoms of dry eyes was approximately 1 in 4; severe symptoms were reported by 1 in 225 patients.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1988

Differentiation of corneal complications observed in contact lens wearers.

Corneal epithelial cystic formations and epithelial infiltrates are relatively common in contact lens patients. Accurate diagnosis of these conditions is needed for proper management of the patient, but the observation and differential diagnosis is hampered by the minute size and similar biomicroscopic appearance of these conditions. This paper presents a description of these subtle formations and the slit lamp techniques for differentiating epithelial microcysts, vacuoles, bullae, and infiltrates. The clinical significance of these conditions is also discussed.

Contact Lenses↗

PubMed1986

Sorbic acid revisited.

135 patients wearing hydrogel lenses were prescribed a care system of sorbic acid preserved surfactant, Lensept and Bausch and Lomb Sensitive Eyes Saline (sorbic acid 0.10%). Fifteen percent of patients presented with an adverse ocular response to their care system. The etiology was attributed to sorbic acid as the use of nonpreserved saline eliminated the signs and symptoms. This incidence of reaction is similar to those published earlier on thimerosal preserved saline and sorbic acid preserved saline.

Contact Lenses↗

PubMed1986

Bifocal hydrogel lenses: an overview.

Until the advent of bifocal hydrogel lenses, monovision or reading glasses were the modes of correction for hydrogel contact lens wearing presbyopes. Recent design innovations and improvements in the manufacturing technology of soft contact lenses have made possible new developments in bifocal hydrogel lenses. Patient selection and patient education play key roles in optimizing patient success. There are several hydrogel bifocal designs that are possible for the presbyope. The variations of these designs and their pertinent considerations are discussed.

Contact Lenses↗