Therapeutic soft contact lenses show promise as an effective tool for managing gelatinous drop-like corneal dystrophy, specifically in slowing the progression of nodular lesions and decreasing the need for surgery, a study in the British Journal of Ophthalmology reports.

Japanese researchers conducted a retrospective, consecutive observational case series that included 20 patients (40 eyes) who were treated for gelatinous drop-like corneal dystrophy at the Osaka University Hospital within the last 15 years. Investigators evaluated the therapeutic soft contact lenses’ impact on clinical features, visual acuity and the need for surgical intervention.

Patients who had no surgical intervention for three years were given visual acuity and clinical exams. The study also looked at the results of the Fisher’s Exact and Mann-Whitney U tests.

Researchers reported a significantly lower rate of nodular lesion progression in patients who wore soft contact lenses compared with those in the control group. Additionally, investigators found no suppressant effects regarding opacity and neovascularization or significant improvements in visual acuity.

Also of note: All 16 patients who wore therapeutic soft contact lenses were able to ward off surgical intervention for longer periods than the 22 individuals in the control group: 2,770 ± 1,918 days vs. 1,342 ± 1,323 days.