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Issue 57 | December 2020
2020: An extraordinary year
A global view on clinical practice during a pandemic. COVID-19 and clinical practice has been the subject of many peer review and clinical articles since the declaration of the global pandemic in March 2020. As the year draws to a close Contact Lens Update wanted to understand how eye care practitioners (ECPs) have coped with the events of the last few months. The editorial of this special edition paints a picture of those experiences in ten different countries through the eyes of practitioners involved in many aspects of routine and specialist patient care. From coping with necessary changes at the start of the pandemic, returning to routine practice and through to looking towards the future, our global panel summarise their journey; one that many ECPs have covered during the year. Some of their insights touch on patient-related experiences such as the efficacy of mask wearing, and dry eyes associated with use of masks and digital devices. All of these topics are further expanded on in the other sections of this issue.
- Editorial - A Year in Review: A Global Perspective on the Most Extraordinary of Years in Clinical Practice
- Feature Article - Face coverings and mask to minimise droplet dispersion and aerosolisation: a video case study
- Conference Highlights - Increase in Dry Eye Symptoms Among Middle and High School Students After Initiation of Online Learning Due to COVID-19 Pandemic
- Clinical Insight - Infographic: Mask Associated Dry Eye (MADE)
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Issue 56 | October 2020
Scleral lens update
Review of current hot topics, new research and diagnostic lens disinfection guidelines. We are delighted to announce a special edition of Contact Lens Update curated by subject matter expert Melissa Barnett. Her editorial tackles current hot topics including the use of scleral lenses in keratoconus, and how to recognise and addressing midday fogging. She also explores potential future uses of scleral lenses, from ocular drug delivery to smart lenses. The role of the filling solution is examined in both the feature article and conference highlight. The results of a study by Jennifer Fogt investigate if a novel filling solution can alter midday fogging. Fiona Stapleton’s conference highlight looks at the impact on comfort and vision of adding a lubricating drop to the filling solution ahead of lens wear. Finally, with advice that is necessary all of the time, but perhaps more so in the current climate of ensuring safe practice with COVID-19, the downloadable practitioner reference contains the correct steps necessary to disinfect reusable diagnostic lenses in practice.
- Editorial - Scleral Lens Update: Current and Future Applications
- Feature Article - Midday fogging
- Conference Highlights - Fiona Stapleton and colleagues explore the effect of adding a drop of artificial tear to the unpreserved saline filling solution of mini-scleral contact lenses
- Clinical Insight - Practitioner Reference: Disinfecting your Diagnostics
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Issue 55 | September 2020
A dose of myopia
Evidence for dose-dependent responses and how to apply this in practice. Two globally recognised experts contribute to this issue on the subject of a dose-dependent response in myopia management. Mark Bullimore’s editorial reviews the recently published BLINK study, summarising key findings and making them applicable to practice. One of those findings relates to the strength, or ‘dose’ of the treatment used. Australian myopia control expert, Philip Cheng, takes this further in the feature article, reviewing evidence for that same link across a number of different myopia control interventions. He then draws on his considerable experience in the clinical insight section to demonstrate how to apply this evidence when recommending treatment for patients in practice. A dose-dependent response to atropine has been reported widely before, but JR Polling’s recent abstract, shared as the conference highlight, demonstrates once more, in a clinical population, just how this conclusion continues to hold true.
- Editorial - BLINK: Don’t Miss It
- Feature Article - Is a dose-dependent response common among a number of myopia control treatments?
- Conference Highlights - Atropine for myopia progression: high dose vs low dose in a real-world setting
- Clinical Insight - How to choose myopia management interventions for the child in your chair
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Issue 54 | June 2020
New news since TFOS DEWS II
Reflecting on dry eye disease research and practice three years on from TFOS DEWS II. With contributions from two TFOS global ambassadors, this issue of contact lens update delivers new and practical information for use with dry eye patients. Jennifer Craig, a member of the TFOS board of directors and vice-chair of the TFOS DEWS II workshop, summarises how the dry eye reports of 2017 have helped shape research and influence clinical practice. Her editorial provides useful clinical pearls along with sharing results of new research in the field. In the feature article, TFOS global ambassador Scott Schachter provides a useful reminder that the impact of dry eye disease on vision should not be overlooked, summarising key publications in three different patient groups. The conference highlight features work from both Jennifer and Scott that was presented at ARVO last year. Finally, this issue’s clinical insight reviews the use of preserved and non-preserved artificial tears.
- Editorial - New news since TFOS DEWS II
- Feature Article - Vision considerations in dry eye, contact lens and cataract patients
- Conference Highlights - New research on dry eye disease from ARVO
- Clinical Insight - Practitioner Reference: Preservatives and Dry Eye Disease