Researchers recently found that short-term fenestrated scleral lens wear resulted in a small but statistically significant increase in IOP in the majority of participants.

The study evaluated IOP before, during and after a brief period (one to two minutes) of fenestrated scleral lens wear in 50 young, healthy adults (mean age 23±4 years) with normal corneas.

Immediately following lens insertion, the team discovered that 96% of patients displayed a mean increase of 3.8±2.0mm Hg in IOP. Immediately following lens removal, they noted that 50% of participants displayed a reduction in IOP that was equal to or lower than the pre-insertion IOP (-1.0±0.8mm Hg lower than baseline). They added that the remaining 50% displayed an IOP slightly greater than the pre-insertion IOP (1.6±1.0mm Hg greater).

“Further research is required to determine if this measured change in IOP during scleral lens wear is artefactual or an elevation in the true IOP,” the study authors concluded in their paper.