General View of Optometrists’ Acceptance of the Orthokeratology Concept in Jeddah, KSA

Introduction: Orthokeratology refers to the creation of gas permeable contact lenses that temporarily reshape the cornea to reduce refractive errors such as myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism without the need for any surgical intervention. Despite these advantages and the fact, it has gained its FDA approval, it’s still a matter of controversy and its viability as a long-term treatment is yet to be discovered.
Aim: To view and investigate the prevalence of optometrists’ acceptance of the orthokeratology concept.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from the attendees at the “Red Sea Ophthalmology Symposium” Jeddah, western region, kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the period of 10-13 January 2018. Statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS software package.
Results: A total of 57 randomly selected optometrists, the majority of which were Saudi (80.7%) and worked at governmental facilities (73.7%). (56.1%) did not have background of Orthokeratology. (45.61%) of whom have acquired previous knowledge on the matter, might consider prescribing of the lenses justified their choice based on its effectiveness in the treatment of myopia without any surgical interventions (23.8%). While those who chose to disapprove of its viability as treatment despite their previous knowledge on the subject justified their choice based on the possible complications that could arise from its long-term use (9.5%), their incomplete understanding of the full concept of orthokeratology lenses appliance (42.9%), and based on previous studies that was not encouraging to them to consider prescribing it (21.4%).
Conclusion: This study concluded that optometrists in general had limited knowledge on the matter, which had led them not to consider prescribing it because it is a matter of controversy due to the limited amount of studies needed to approve it as a more beneficial alternative to surgical intervention than disadvantageous on the long term. Also being a temporary solution hasn’t been an impelling factor to the doctors when it comes to prescribing it for the sake of their patient’s safety for the time being.