Epithelial pigment slide in contact lens wearers: A possible marker for contact lens-associated stress on corneal epithelium

PURPOSE: To compare the incidence of epithelial pigment slide among wearers of various types of contact lenses. METHODS: Prospectively, we studied 432 eyes of 432 patients. The patients w ere separated into 6 groups: hard contact lens (HCL) wearers (n = 166), con ventional soft contact lens (CSCL) wearers (n = 30), extended disposable le ns (EDCL) wearers (n = 46), frequent replacement SCL (FRCL) wearers (n = 60 ), daily disposable SCL (DDCL) wearers (n = 65), and normal controls (n = 6 5). The incidence of prominent pigment slide, defined as spike-like epithel ial opacities in the corneal limbus and longer than 1 mm from the base to t he apex of the wedges-shaped process detected by slit-lamp examination, was compared in these 6 groups. The relationship between the incidence of prom inent pigment slide and the length of contact lens wear was examined. RESULTS: The overall incidence of prominent pigment slide in the CSCL, EDCL , HCL, FRCL, DDCL, and normal groups was 63.3, 23.9, 13.9, 8.3, 7.71 and 4. 6%, respectively. The incidence of prominent pigment slide in the CSCL and EDCL groups was significantly higher than that in the control group. A high er incidence of prominent pigment slide was correlated with longer wearing period in each group. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of epithelial pigment slide may be a marker for c ontact lens-associated stress to the corneal epithelium. (Am J Ophthalmol 2 001;131: 431-437. (C) 2001 by Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved).