Scientists warned of infection risks before ReNu recall

Wednesday, 26 July 2006

Bausch & Lomb was slow to react to the link between its ReNu with MoistureLoc contact lens solution and the fungal infection Fusarium keratitis, only issuing a worldwide ReNu recall in May. But scientists have warned for many years of the infection risks posed by multi-purpose contact lens solutions—and of ReNu specifically. In a 1999 study, microbiologist Kathleen Dannelly of Indiana State University added bacteria to five popular contact lens solutions at levels higher than industry standards. She found that Bausch & Lomb’s ReNu MultiPlus—which the company has touted as a safe alternative to MoistureLoc—didn’t disinfect as well as the four other brands. In 2005, New York optometrist Arthur Epstein left contact lenses soaking in ReNu with MoistureLoc for a week, mimicking the breaks from contact lenses that many wearers take. When he opened the cases, Dr. Epstein found them visibly covered with the Fusarium fungus; when he repeated the experiment, he again found the lenses covered with Fusarium. Although Dr. Epstein reported his experiments to Bausch & Lomb, the company took no action. Some scientists believe that the increased risk of infection caused by multi-purpose solutions like ReNu with MoistureLoc could be the result of damage they cause to the surface of the eyes. Studies suggest that the phenomenon, known as “corneal staining,” is caused when contact lenses absorb disinfectant from the solution and transfer it to the eye. There the disinfectant causes corneal staining, leaving a pattern of spots on the eye where the cornea has been damaged. A 2004 study by Dr. Christine Sindt of the University of Iowa found that ReNu with MoistureLoc caused “dramatic” corneal staining in test subjects. Although she reported the findings of her study to Bausch & Lomb, the company told Dr. Sindt that it “wasn’t a big deal.”