Office Analysis of a One-Bottle RGP Lens Care System

BY ROBERT REED JR., O.D.
OCT. 1996

The latest one-bottle RGP lens care system, Simplicity by Polymer Technology, combines a cleaning system with a rinsing, disinfecting and conditioning solution. Multiple surfactants remove lipids and proteins and prevent formation of deposits, while a patented wetting agent, Neutraclens, neutralizes potential surfactant irritation and helps clean and prevent deposit formation.

In December 1995, our office surveyed 12 patients to evaluate the effectiveness of the Simplicity one-bottle lens care system. There was little doubt that patients would like the idea of an all-in-one solution, as has been the history with solutions for PMMA and soft contact lenses, but we wanted their opinions on initial comfort, end of day comfort and overall preference of Simplicity compared to their current care system.

SURVEY DESIGN

We asked the first 12 current RGP contact lens wearers who visited the office for their routine examinations in December to use the one-bottle system for three to four weeks and then return to their current system. The years of wearing RGPs ranged from two years to 35 years with over 129 years of wear represented by the 12 patients. Nine patients were using Boston Advance Comfort and two were using Boston Original, both products from Polymer Technology; one patient was using Alcon's Opti-Soak.

Before starting the trial period, we instructed the patients on how to use Simplicity and asked them to rate their current care systems on comfort and overall satisfaction on a scale from one to four. At the end of the four weeks and after going back to their original systems to eliminate any bias relating to new lenses or polishing effects, we asked them to rate Simplicity and compare it to their original systems. We asked a total of nine questions, including how important patients felt it was for their eyecare professional to participate in new research activities.

RESPONSES

After analyzing their current lens care systems, 10 out of the 12 study participants reported good or excellent comfort upon initial insertion, eight reported fair to poor comfort at the end of the day and eight evaluated their current system as good to excellent overall. When rating Simplicity, 10 patients reported good to excellent comfort upon initial insertion, eight reported good to excellent comfort at the end of the day and 10 rated Simplicity as good to excellent overall.

When rating the overall performance of the two RGP lens care systems, none of the participants rated their current solution system as poor, while some patients rated Simplicity as poor. However, Simplicity received twice as many excellent ratings as did the current systems (Fig. 1).

Most patients we sampled said their current solution does an adequate cleaning job, but they rated Simplicity significantly better for end of day comfort. While some patients were dissatisfied with the Simplicity system, most showed great interest in continuing with it (Fig. 2). As a result, we are stocking and sampling it to additional RGP patients.

In an attempt to see how patients viewed this study, the last question showed that 11 of the 12 patients felt it was somewhat or very important for their eyecare professionals to be involved in technical research.

This study provided first-hand patient information regarding the new one-bottle RGP lens care system and also proved to be a good image builder in our patients' minds. It remains to be seen if Simplicity can provide good comfort and effective cleaning ability on a long-term basis, but this sample bears out that Simplicity is definitely a solution to be offered. CLS

Dr. Reed is in private practice in St. Joseph, Mich. His special interests include RGP and disposable contact lenses and visual ergonomics for computer use.

References are available upon written request to the editors at Contact Lens Spectrum. To receive this information via fax, call 1-800-239-4684 and request Document #18. (Be sure to have a fax number ready.)