Effect of body position on intraocular pressure measured by rebound tonometer in healthy children

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of body position on intraocular pressure (IOP) measurement in the pediatric age group. Materials and Methods: Children whose general condition was healthy and ophthalmic examination was within normal limits were included. Forty-nine eyes of 49 pediatric patients were included in the study. IOP was measured with an ICARE rebound tonometer (ICARE PRO; ICARE, Helsinki, Finland) while patients were in standing, sitting, and supine positions. Differences between the consecutive measurements were compared statistically. Results: Twenty-two of the 49 patients were female, 27 were male. The mean age was 9.61±2.66 (5-15) years. Mean IOP values in the standing, sitting, and supine positions were 18.81±2.97 (11.6-26.2) mmHg, 18.88±3.44, (12-28.2) mmHg, and 19.01±2.8 (13.5-25.9) mmHg, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences in pairwise comparisons of the measurements taken in the different positions (p=0.846, p=0.751, p=0.606). There was a statistically significant correlation between corneal thickness and intraocular pressure values in all measurements (p=0.001, r=0.516). Conclusion: IOP values measured with the ICARE rebound tonometer in healthy children are not affected by body position.