Contact Lenses Outshine Spectacles for Kids with Primary Congenital Glaucoma, Study Finds

Sharper, steadier, smoother. RGPCLs outfocus spectacles in kids after PCG surgery.

Fresh data is shedding new clarity on why rigid gas-permeable contact lenses (RGPCLs) may trump spectacles after primary congenital glaucoma (PCG) surgery.

The Contact Lens for Vision Rehabilitation in PCG Children (CLEVR-PCG) trial, conducted at Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center (Guangzhou, China), found that young patients wearing RGPCLs enjoyed greater gains in visual acuity, contrast sensitivity and stereoacuity than those who stuck with glasses.*

“RGPCLs provided superior visual acuity and contrast sensitivity improvement versus continued spectacle wear for children after PCG surgery,” the study authors reported.

Inside the study

The randomized clinical trial enrolled 56 children aged four to 15 years with surgically managed PCG who had shown poor response to spectacles. Participants were randomly assigned to either the RGPCL group (29 children) or the continued spectacle group (27 children) for 12 months. Both groups received standardized amblyopia patching when indicated.*

Of these, 48 participants completed at least one follow-up and were included in the primary analysis. By the end of the study, 22 children (76%) in the RGPCL group and 19 (70.4%) in the spectacle group made it to the 12-month finish line.*

The results

After a year, the RGPCL group achieved significantly greater improvement in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in their worse-seeing eye. Mean improvement reached 0.31 logMAR for RGPCL wearers versus 0.12 logMAR for the spectacle group—a clinically meaningful edge of roughly 10 letters or two lines on a vision chart.*

A closer look revealed that 62.5% of children in the RGPCL group gained two or more lines of BCVA improvement, compared to 37.5% in the spectacles group.*

Other standout results included:*

Greater improvement in contrast sensitivity (0.40 vs. 0.13 log units)
Better near stereoacuity, with 50% of RGPCL wearers achieving 60 arcseconds or better versus 25% among spectacle users

Importantly, no serious adverse events occurred during the study, underscoring the safety of RGPCL use in this population.*

Why it matters

PCG remains a leading cause of childhood blindness worldwide. Even when surgery successfully manages intraocular pressure, kids may still struggle with vision due to corneal irregularities, refractive errors or amblyopia.

The authors suggest that RGPCLs offer a visual edge by creating “a smoother refractive surface and reducing higher-order aberrations” that can interfere with vision in these young patients.*

“These findings support using RGPCLs for children undergoing PCG surgery, including those with worse baseline visual acuity or poor spectacle response,” the researchers concluded.

Room for more clarity

As with any single-center study, there were a few caveats. The modest sample size, 12-month duration and partial blinding due to the visible nature of the interventions could introduce bias.*

The researchers recommend future multicenter studies with longer follow-up to confirm their findings and to further explore the long-term safety, developmental outcomes and quality-of-life impact of RGPCLs in children with PCG.*

Bottom line: In the battle of lenses versus glasses, RGPCLs appear to give young PCG patients a clearer view of the world—and perhaps, a brighter outlook on life.

*Jiang J, Hu Y, Zhu Y, et al. Visual outcomes of children with primary congenital glaucoma receiving different refractive corrections: The CLEVR-PCG randomized clinical trial [Preprint]. JAMA Ophthalmol. November 6, 2025.

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