Microbial keratitis cases lead to safety probe

A consultant has been tasked with conducting a detailed study in Hong Kong on orthokeratology lenses following conflicting reports on their safety.

Studies were carried out by Hong Kong Polytechnic University and ophthalmologists at Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), with the latter stating the technique may lead to microbial keratitis.

The CUHK research team investigated cases in the past 10 years where patients aged at or below 18 were diagnosed with microbial keratitis. They found that about 38 per cent of the cases were directly related to the use of orthokeratology. Dr Alvin Young, clinical associate professor (Honorary) at CUHK pointed out that wearing orthokeratology lenses might cause corneal abrasions, weakening the cornea, with an increased susceptibility to bacterial infection at the site of abrasion if proper cleaning and hygiene measures were not adopted.