ORIGINAL PAPER First contact diagnosis and management of contact lens-related complications Xavier J. Fagan • Vishal Jhanji • Marios Constantinou • F. M. Amirul Islam • Hugh R. Taylor • Rasik B. Vajpayee Received: 28 April 2011 / Accepted: 4 April 2012 / Published online: 22 April 2012 Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012 Abstract To describe the spectrum of contact lens- related problems in cases presenting to a tertiary referral eye hospital. A retrospective case record analysis of 111 eyes of 97 consecutive patients was undertaken over a period of five months at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, Melbourne, Australia. Contact lens-related complications (CLRC) were classified into microbial keratitis, sterile corneal infiltrates, corneal epitheliopathy and contact lens- related red eye (CLARE). Main parameters examined were nature of the first contact, clinical diagnosis, and management pattern. Forty-two percent of the initial presentations were to health care practitioners (HCPs) other than ophthalmologists. Mean duration from the onset of symptoms to presentation was 6.3 ± 10.9 days. Forty-nine percent (n = 54) of patients had an associated risk factor, most commonly overnight use of contact lenses (n = 14, 13 %). Most common diagnosis at presentation was corneal epitheliopathy (68 %) followed by sterile infiltrates (10 %), CLARE (8 %) and microbial keratitis (6 %). No significant differences were found in the pattern of treatment modalities administered by ophthalmologists and other HCPs. HCPs other than ophthalmologists are the first contact for contact lens-related problems in a significant proportion of patients. These HCPs manage the majority of CLRC by direct treatment or imme- diate referral. Keywords Contact lens Á Management Á Complications X. J. Fagan Á R. B. Vajpayee Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, 32, Gisborne Street, East Melbourne, VIC 3002, Australia V. Jhanji Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Hong Kong V. Jhanji Á M. Constantinou Á F. M. Amirul Islam Á H. R. Taylor Á R. B. Vajpayee (&) Centre for Eye Research Australia, University of Melbourne, 32, Gisborne Street, East Melbourne, VIC 3002, Australia e-mail: rasikv@unimelb.edu.au F. M. Amirul Islam Department of Mathematics and Computing, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba QLD 4350, Australia H. R. Taylor Melbourne School of Population Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia R. B. Vajpayee Dr. Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110029, India 123 Int Ophthalmol (2012) 32:321–327 DOI 10.1007/s10792-012-9563-z