Effect of antihistamine-releasing contact lenses on ocular symptoms and treatment behavior in patients with seasonal allergic conjunctivitis: A retrospective study

Kenta Fujio; Jaemyoung Sung; Kunihiko Hirosawa; Masahiro Yamaguchi; Hiroshi Toshida; Keiji Inagaki; Gaku Ishida; Motozumi Itoi; Kazushige Sado; Hiroo Hayatsu; Hirayama Nobutaka; Junji Ono; Hidetaka Taniguchi; Masao Iwagami; Ken Nagino; Yuichi Okumura; Akie Midorikawa-Inomata; Yasutsugu Akasaki; Tianxiang Huang; Yuki Morooka; Tomoko Okuyama; Shintaro Nakao; Akira Murakami; Hiroyuki Kobayashi; Takenori Inomata

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e33385

Effect of antihistamine-releasing contact lenses on ocular symptoms and treatment behavior in patients with seasonal allergic conjunctivitis: A retrospective study

Heliyon. 2024 Jun 22;10(13):e33385. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e33385. eCollection 2024 Jul 15.

Authors

Kenta Fujio^{1

2}, Jaemyoung Sung^{2

3}, Kunihiko Hirosawa^{1

2}, Masahiro Yamaguchi², Hiroshi Toshida⁴, Keiji Inagaki⁵, Gaku Ishida⁶, Motozumi Itoi⁷, Kazushige Sado⁸, Hiroo Hayatsu⁹, Hirayama Nobutaka¹⁰, Junji Ono¹¹, Hidetaka Taniguchi^{12

13}, Masao Iwagami¹⁴, Ken Nagino^{1

2

15

16}, Yuichi Okumura^{1

2

16}, Akie Midorikawa-Inomata^{15

16}, Yasutsugu Akasaki^{1

2}, Tianxiang Huang^{1

2}, Yuki Morooka^{1

2}, Tomoko Okuyama¹, Shintaro Nakao², Akira Murakami^{1

2}, Hiroyuki Kobayashi¹⁵, Takenori Inomata^{1

2

15

16}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Digital Medicine, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
² Department of Ophthalmology, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
³ Department of Ophthalmology, Tulane University School of Medicine, 131 S. Robertson St., 12th Floor, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA.
⁴ Department of Ophthalmology, Shizuoka Hospital, Juntendo University, Shizuoka, Japan.
⁵ Inagaki Eye Clinic, Chiba, Japan.
⁶ Ishida Eye Clinic, Nigata, Japan.
⁷ Dogenzaka Itoi Eye Clinic, Tokyo, Japan.
⁸ Kamaishi Bay Eye Clinic, Iwate, Japan.
⁹ Hayatsu Eye Clinic, Tochigi, Japan.
¹⁰ Hirayama Eye Clinic, Tokyo, Japan.
¹¹ Ono Eye Clinic, Shizuoka, Japan.
¹² Okachimachi Taniguchi Eye Clinic, Tokyo, Japan.
¹³ Shinshizuoka Taniguchi Eye Clinic, Shizuoka, Japan.
¹⁴ Department of Health Services Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
¹⁵ Department of Hospital Administration, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
¹⁶ Department of Telemedicine and Mobile Health, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to compare subjective allergic conjunctivitis symptoms and anti-allergic eye drop use patterns between antihistamine-releasing contact lens users and daily disposable soft contact lens users during Japan's hay fever season.

Methods: This web-based retrospective cohort study included daily disposable soft contact lens or antihistamine-releasing contact lens users with a history of seasonal allergic conjunctivitis who regularly used daily disposable soft contact lenses since the previous year. The total ocular symptom score (range 0-20) based on 5-item questionnaire scores and time from the start of the hay fever season to the initiation of anti-allergic eye drop treatment were compared between antihistamine-releasing contact lens users and daily disposable soft contact lens users.

Results: The study included 24 participants: 17 using daily disposable soft contact lenses and 7 using antihistamine-releasing contact lenses. Antihistamine-releasing contact lens users experienced a greater reduction in total ocular symptom score from 2021 to 2022 compared with daily disposable soft contact lens users (mean total ocular symptom score [standard deviation]: daily disposable soft contact lens: -0.65 [1.4], antihistamine-releasing contact lens: -4.7 [3.6]; n = 24; Mann-Whitney U test, P = 0.010). Fourteen daily disposable soft contact lens users and five antihistamine-releasing contact lens users eventually required anti-allergic eye drops. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed a significant delay in the initiation of anti-allergic eye drop treatment among those using antihistamine-releasing contact lenses compared with those using daily disposable soft contact lenses (median days, daily disposable soft contact lenses: 19 days, antihistamine-releasing contact lens: 57 days; n = 24; log-rank test, P = 0.045).

Conclusions: Antihistamine-releasing contact lenses can potentially mitigate worsening ocular allergic responses during the hay fever season when used appropriately as a preventive measure.

Keywords: Allergic conjunctivitis; Contact lens; Drug delivery; Hay fever; Pollinosis.