Increased Pseudomonas aeruginosa adhesion following air drying of etafilcon A soft contact lenses.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the changes in bacterial adhesion resulting from air-drying soft contact lenses.

Methods: An in vitro study was conducted on four sets of identical, unworn etafilcon A soft contact lenses, air-dried for varying periods of time. These lenses were placed in a bacterial suspension, rinsed, ground, and plated in order to determine bacterial adhesion.

Results: The increased bacterial adhesion to these high water content, ionic lenses was statistically significant following five minutes of drying. Reversal of the effect was noted after rehydration.

Conclusions: Soft contact lens drying results in increased bacterial adhesion.