Users of ReNu Can Get Refund

Archives Admin · #1 (**permalink**) 04-17-2006, 01:09 PM

People who use the ReNu with MoistureLoc contact lens cleaner have plenty of options after maker Bausch & Lomb asked stores to remove the product from shelves Thursday amid concerns that it may be linked to a rare and dangerous eye infection that can cause blindness.

Other cleaning solutions were available at chain stores in Center City yesterday, including many products with moisturizing formulas.

And Bausch & Lomb announced that it would refund customers who return the product or would provide a coupon for other lens cleaners. The company also set up a toll-free help line: 1-888-666-2258.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said that it is continuing to investigate the rash of fungal infections with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Patients should immediately discontinue using ReNu with MoistureLoc until further notice," optometrist Arthur Epstein, chair of the contact lens and cornea section of the American Optometric Association, said in a statement. "This is a serious infection that can cause permanent loss of sight."

More than 30 million people wear contact lenses in the United States.

A similar outbreak of infections in Asia prompted Bausch & Lomb to recall the product in Singapore earlier this year.

The federal agencies reported that they were trying to determine the cause of 109 cases of the fungal infection, Fusarium keratitis, in 17 states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

The New Jersey Department of Health has confirmed four infections and is investigating five other cases. Pennsylvania has six confirmed cases, with two under investigation and seven others possible, said Felicia M.T. Lewis, a CDC epidemic intelligence officer in Philadelphia.

Of the 30 confirmed cases nationally, 28 were associated with contact lens use and nearly all victims used the ReNu with MoistureLoc solution. Still, no causal connection has been found.

Brandon D. Ayres, a Wills Eye Hospital eye surgeon, recommended that people who wear soft contact lenses use peroxide-based cleaners or switch to disposable lenses.

"One of the best ways to prevent this is to switch from the extended-wear contact lenses to a daily disposable that never needs to get sterilized since you throw them out each night," he said. "Even if your contact lenses are approved for overnight wear, don't do it. Take them out, and sterilize them overnight. Overall, you are going to be better off."

Ayres has seen a significant rise in the number of cases of Fusarium keratitis in recent months. After performing a cornea transplant on a patient last month, he looked at records and found that eight patients were treated for the fungal infection in the last six months. That compares with 24 cases between 1991 and 1999.

Stephen E. Orlin, an ophthalmologist at the University of Pennsylvania, said: "What seems to be evolving is a mini-epidemic of a rare infection."

Orlin said he had yet to see a case at Penn. Nor have any cases surfaced at the Virtua Health hospital network in South Jersey, said ophthalmologist Miriam Brown.

Yesterday, the FDA issued a statement urging contact lens wearers to reduce their risk of getting the fungal infection by:

Washing hands with soap and water before handling lenses.

Wearing and replacing lenses as prescribed by your doctor.

Keeping your lens case clean and replacing it every three to six months.

Seeing your doctor immediately if you have redness, pain, light sensitivity, blurry vision or increased discharge.

Fusarium keratitis is relatively rare in cooler regions, such as the northeastern United States.

That's why David S. Chu, an ophthalmologist at the New Jersey Medical School in Newark, grew concerned after treating three patients with the fungal infection this winter.

"When you see three cases within a couple of weeks, you have to think something is wrong," he said. Chu says he called the company in February and was told that his three cases were the first reported in the country.

Chu has treated a total of six patients for the infection, including two who required cornea transplants.

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Users of ReNu Can Get Refund

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