CORNEAL STAINING PATTERNS IN NORMAL NONCONTACT LENS WEARERS

Corneal fluorescein staining was evaluated in 16 subjects over a 2-wee k period by 2 practitioners. Using a scale of 0 to 4 with 0.5 grade st eps, the average duration for an episode of staining above the group m edian (grade 0.5) was found to be 1.2 +/- 0.4 days. For both eyes, the most prevalent location of staining was the inferior region (50%), fo llowed by the nasal region (20%), Overall, a mean staining grade of 0. 5 for the right eye and 0.6 for the left eye was found. Practitioners also demonstrated a difference in grading of 0.1 in the right and left eyes, These data may be most useful in determining the normality of s uspect corneal fluorescein staining and its duration until resolution, This study demonstrated a low amount of variability between right and left eyes, and established a good consistency between separate examin ers.