Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Aug 31;16(1):152.
doi: 10.1186/s12886-016-0334-x.

Central corneal thickness in newly diagnosed glaucoma patients in South West Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

Kumale Tolesa  1 , Girum W Gessesse  2
Affiliations

Central corneal thickness in newly diagnosed glaucoma patients in South West Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

Kumale Tolesa et al. BMC Ophthalmol. .

Abstract

Background: Reports of central corneal thickness (CCT) among glaucoma patients, particularly for pseudoexfoliative glaucoma (PXG) and Primary Angle Closure Glaucoma (PACG) are scarce in the Sub-Saharan African (SSA) population. The aim of this study is to evaluate CCT in black patients with newly diagnosed glaucoma and ocular hypertension (OHT) in South West Ethiopia.

Methods: This was a prospective study undertaken with an ultrasonic pachymeter from June 2014 to February 2015 in Jimma University Specialized Hospital. Patients aged 18 years and older newly diagnosed with glaucoma or OHT were included.

Results: A total of 162 eyes of 162 subjects were included. Hundred and fifty five subjects were glaucomatous: (67 PXG, 42 Primary Open Angle Glaucoma (POAG), 28 PACG, 14 Normal Tension Glaucoma (NTG), 5 Juvenile Open Angle Glaucoma (JOAG) and 6 (OHT). The mean age was 59.3 ± 12.8 years. For the whole sample, CCT was 518.67 (±39.97) μm. OHT group had significantly greater CCT (576.33 ± 49.32 μm) than the glaucomatous groups (p = 0.004). POAG (506.69 ± 35.08 μm) and NTG (510.79 ± 44.37 μm) groups had thinner CCT than PXG (520.48 ± 38.95 μm), PACG (524.00 ± 37.16 μm), and JOAG (518.00 ± 30.82 μm) groups, but this was not statistically significant (p = 0. 296). There was a statistically significant decline of CCT with advanced age (P = 0.02). There wasn't significant difference of average CCT between the ethnic groups (P = 0.3) and gender (P = 0.064).

Conclusion: The mean CCT of Ethiopian glaucoma patients is thinner than Caucasians and similar to those reported from previous studies in Sub Saharan Africa. OHT patients had thicker CCT; there was no statistically significant difference observed in average CCT amongst glaucoma subtypes.

Keywords: Central corneal thickness; Ethiopia; Glaucoma; Intraocular pressure; Pseudoexfoliation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Scattergram of central corneal thickness (CCT) versus age (n = 162 eyes)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Whitacre MM, Stein RA, Hassanein K. The effect of corneal thickness on applanation tonometry. Am J Ophthalmol. 1993;115:592–6. doi: 10.1016/S0002-9394(14)71455-2. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Shih CY, Graff Zivin JS, Trokel SL, et al. Clinical significance of central corneal thickness in the management of glaucoma. Arch Ophthalmol. 2004;122:1270–5. doi: 10.1001/archopht.122.9.1270. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Miglior S, Pfeiffer N, Torri V, et al. Predictive factors for open angle glaucoma among patients with ocular hypertension in the European glaucoma prevention study. Ophthalmology. 2007;114:3–9. doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2006.05.075. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Brandt JD, Beiser JA, Kass MA, et al. Central corneal thickness in the ocular hypertension treatment study (OHTS) Ophthalmology. 2001;108:1779–88. doi: 10.1016/S0161-6420(01)00760-6. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Brandt JD. Central corneal thickness–tonometry artifact or something more? Ophthalmology. 2007;114(11):1963–4. doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2007.08.031. - DOI - PubMed