Low toric soft contact lens acceptance study

• No clinically significant difference in visual performance between spherical and toric soft contact lenses in low astigmats.
• Axis mislocation may have affected vision through the toric contact lenses.
• The differences in material and lens design between the spherical and toric contact lenses used must be considered.

PurposeThe aim of the study was to evaluate the objective and subjective visual performance of custom toric contact lenses (TL) and their spherical off-the-shelf counterparts (SL) in subjects with low amounts of astigmatism.MethodsTwenty-three habitual soft lens wearers (40 eyes, 25–35 years) manifesting 0.50–1.00 DC and ≤±3.00 DS were recruited. Air Optix Aqua (Lotrafilcon B) was fit using the spherical equivalent of the manifest refraction. Intelliwave toric in Efrofilcon A (Definitive) was fit using the manifest refraction and keratometric data. Comprehensive visual performance tests were done through manifest refraction in a trial frame; in SL; and in TL. A subjective evaluation of quality of vision was also obtained.ResultsANOVA revealed that, at the morning visit (AM), high contrast logMAR distance visual acuity (HCDVA) was significantly better (p < 0.01) in spectacles as compared to SL. A similar trend was noted at the afternoon visit (PM). In addition, at the PM visit, HCDVA was significantly better (p < 0.01) for TL as compared to their SL. ANOVA revealed that, at the PM visit, low contrast distance visual acuity (LCDVA) was significantly better (p = 0.05) in spectacles as compared to SL. None of these differences were clinically significant. In addition, no statistically significant difference (p > 0.05) in subjective vision rating scores was noted between SL and TL.ConclusionsThe present investigation found no clinically significant difference in visual performance between spherical and toric soft contact lenses in low astigmats.