건성안에서 소프트콘택트렌즈에 침착되는 단백질양과 눈물양 및 눈물막 안정성의 상관관계

Purpose: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of tear volume and tear film stability on the amount of protein deposited on soft contact lenses in dry eyes. Methods: Non-invasive tear breakup time and Schirmer II test results of 30 dry eyes were examined. Then, 4 kinds of soft contact lenses were placed on the eyes for 7 hours, and the proteins deposited on the lenses were quantified. Results: In the correlation analysis between the protein amount deposited on the soft contact lenses and tear volume, a strong positive correlation was seen in both ionic etafilcon A lens (p = 0.000; slope = 124.2) and etafilcon A lens with wetting agent (p = 0.000, slope = 130.3); however, 78% of high water lens (p = 0.703; slope = −6.0) and silicone hydrogel lens (p = 0.881; slope = −2.2) showed a negative correlation, indicating that more protein amount was deposited on the soft lens when the tear volume was low. In the correlation analysis between the protein amount deposited on the soft lens and tear film stability, etafilcon A lens (p = 0.005; slope = 74.1) showed lesser correlation with the tear volume, and its correlation was different in the presence of wetting factors (p = 0.155, slope = 43.8). The protein amount deposited on high water lens tended to increase largely when the tear film stability was low (p = 0.072; slope = −34.6). The protein amount deposited on silicone hydrogel lenses was least affected by the tear film stability and tear volume (p = 0.484; slope = −8.9). Conclusions: In this study, it was revealed that correlation between the protein amount deposited on soft lenses and tear volume was different from the correlation with tear film stability, and the correlation varied with the lens material and presence of wetting agent.