AIM: To investigate the effect of silicone hydrogel soft contact lens in the treatment of persistent corneal epithelial defect.

METHODS: The clinical data of 56 patients(56 eyes)with persistent corneal epithelial defect treated in our hospital from January 2014 to January 2017 were retrospectively analyzed; 21 patients in the control group received hydrogel contact lenses, and 35 patients in the observation group received silicone hydrogel soft contact lens. Then the clinical effect, the classification of corneal opacity, the improvement of visual acuity, the subjective comfort and complications of the patients were recorded.

RESULTS: Wilcoxon rank sum test showed that there were significant differences in the clinical efficacy between the two groups(P=0.042). The total effective rate of the observation group was significantly lower than that of the control group(94% vs 76%). There was no significant difference in Haze classification between the groups after 3d of treatment(P>0.05); after 1wk and 1mo of treatment, there were significant differences in Haze classification between groups(P<0.05); after 1mo of treatment, the proportion of Haze grading 0 in the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group(49% vs 19%), there was significant difference between the two groups(χ²=4.481, P=0.027). There was a significant difference in visual acuity between the two groups(Z=-3.347, P<0.05); the visual acuity of 91.43% in the observation group were improved, which was significantly lower than that of the control group(52.38%, P=0.002). There was no significant difference in the comfort scores between the two groups before treatment(P>0.05). After the first day of treatment, the comfort scores of both groups increased. The comfort scores of the observation group after treatment 1d, 3d and 1wk were significantly lower than those of the control group(t=-17.422, -15.827, -16.588; P<0.01). The average healing time of corneal epithelium in the observation group was 4.25±1.05d, and the control group was 5.96±2.16d(t=-3.395, P<0.05). The incidence of adverse reactions in the observation group was lower than that in the control group(P<0.05).

CONCLUSION: Silicon hydrogel soft corneal contact lens can be used in the treatment of persistent corneal epithelial defect.