Satisfaction with Precision1 for Astigmatism CLs

The past 25 years have seen a number of very significant developments in contact lens products and manufacturing technology. Studies have shown, that when compared with reusable lenses, daily disposable lenses offer patients convenience and improved physiological response,^1,2 while silicone hydrogel materials offer superb oxygen permeability and excellent oxygen-related physiological performance.³ Daily disposable silicone hydrogel lenses offer patients a combination of all these benefits and are now considered the contemporary ‘standard of care’.⁴

Providing patients with optimal vision correction is the goal of all eye care professionals (ECP) when prescribing spectacles and contact lenses. While patients are often categorised in terms of their spherical refractive error, it is paramount not to neglect the toric component of their visual correction. Astigmatism is the most prevalent refractive error in the adult population⁵ with nearly 50% of spectacle wearers having astigmatism of 0.75DC or more in at least one eye and around a third of potential contact lens wearers requiring astigmatic correction.⁶ While an ECP would be unlikely to consider excluding a small cylinder when prescribing spectacles for an astigmatic, some practitioners have the practice of using this strategy for contact lens wearers. However, when astigmatic patients are fitted with toric contact lenses, it has been shown that they experience better acuity and comfort than with spherical lenses.⁷ Previously, it was thought that fitting thick or high modulus spherical contact lenses to astigmatic patients was a method of ‘masking’ astigmatism and avoiding the use of a toric contact lens, but this theory has subsequently been disproved.⁸