Comparison of central corneal thickness estimated by an ultrasonic pachymeter and non-contact specular microscopy

Abstract

Purpose: To compare central corneal thickness (CCT) measurements of healthy individuals obtained with ultrasonic pachymetry (UP) and non-contact specular microscopy (NCSM). Method: In total, 148 eyes of 74 subjects with no ocular or systemic diseases were included in the study. Central corneal thickness measurements of all patients performed with UP and NCCM were compared. Results: A total of 74 subjects (38 females) were included in this study. The mean age was 45.2 ± 18.4 (range 12-85) years. The mean central corneal thickness of all 148 eyes was 546.9 ± 40 μm with UP and 510.8 ± 42 μm with NCSM. The mean central corneal thickness measured with NCSM was 35 μm thinner than that measured with UP (p < 0.001). A high degree of agreement was found between the two methods (r=0.942, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Our results suggest that NCSM measures thinner corneas than UP and that the correction formula we identified should be applied when comparing between these two devices.