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
Observational Study
. 2024 Sep 1;43(9):1154-1161.
doi: 10.1097/ICO.0000000000003414. Epub 2023 Oct 27.

Influence of Subclinical Corneal Edema on Contrast Sensitivity in Fuchs Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy

Maximilian Friedrich  1 , Christina Antonia Hofmann, Lizaveta Chychko, Hyeck-Soo Son, Ramin Khoramnia, Gerd Uwe Auffarth, Victor Aristide Augustin
Affiliations
Observational Study

Influence of Subclinical Corneal Edema on Contrast Sensitivity in Fuchs Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy

Maximilian Friedrich et al. Cornea. .

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare visual function, with a focus on contrast sensitivity, between patients with Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD) with and without subclinical corneal edema.

Methods: In this cross-sectional, observational, single-center study, 46 pseudophakic eyes of 31 patients with FECD were divided into 2 groups depending on the presence of subclinical corneal edema. All eyes presented with a Krachmer grade of 5 and no clinical corneal edema. The criteria for subclinical corneal edema were loss of regular isopachs, displacement of the thinnest point, and focal posterior surface depression in Scheimpflug tomography. If more than 1 criterion was present, subclinical corneal edema was diagnosed. The corrected distance visual acuity, contrast sensitivity (Pelli-Robson chart and CSV-1000 test with optional glare), and straylight were measured. The differences between both groups were analyzed using clustered Wilcoxon rank-sum tests.

Results: The corrected distance visual acuity and the contrast sensitivity, measured with a Pelli-Robson chart, were significantly inferior in eyes with subclinical corneal edema compared with eyes without subclinical edema ( P < 0.05). At all spatial frequencies, eyes with subclinical edema demonstrated lower contrast sensitivity with a statistically significantly reduction in total contrast sensitivity when tested with ( P = 0.005) and without ( P = 0.002) glare. The straylight did not significantly differ between both groups ( P > 0.05).

Conclusions: The corrected distance visual acuity and contrast sensitivity were significantly reduced in FECD eyes with subclinical corneal edema compared with those with no subclinical edema. This decrease in visual quality may be considered when evaluating the need for surgical intervention at earlier stages of FECD.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

R. Khoramnia reports grants, personal fees, and nonfinancial support from Johnson & Johnson Vision, Alcon Laboratories, Hoya Corp, Kowa Co, Ltd, Oculentis GmbH/Teleon, Physiol S.A., Sifi Medtech Srl, and Rayner Intraocular Lenses Ltd; grants and personal fees from Oculus Optikgeräte GmbH, Carl Zeiss Meditec AG, and Ophtec BV; and grants from Acu Focus Inc., outside the submitted work. G. U. Auffarth reports lecture fees and research grants from Johnson & Johnson Vision, Alcon Laboratories, Carl Zeiss Meditec AG, Hoya Corp, Kowa Co, Ltd, Oculentis GmbH/Teleon, Physiol S.A., Rayner Intraocular Lenses Ltd, Oculus Optikgeräte GmbH, Ophtec BV, Santen, Sifi Medtech Srl, Acu Focus Inc, Novartis, Ursapharm, and Biotech; nonfinancial support from Rheacell, Contamac, Cristalens, Croma, EyeYon, Hanita, and VSY, outside the submitted work. V. A. Augustin reports research grants from Kowa Co., outside the submitted work. The remaining authors have no funding or conflicts of interest to disclose.

Comment in

References

    1. Gain P, Jullienne R, He Z, et al. Global survey of corneal transplantation and eye banking. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2016;134:167–173.
    1. van der Meulen IJE, Patel SV, Lapid-Gortzak R, et al. Quality of vision in patients with Fuchs endothelial dystrophy and after Descemet stripping endothelial keratoplasty. Arch Ophthalmol. 2011;129:1537–1542.
    1. Watanabe S, Oie Y, Fujimoto H, et al. Relationship between corneal guttae and quality of vision in patients with mild Fuchs' endothelial corneal dystrophy. Ophthalmology. 2015;122:2103–2109.
    1. Louttit MD, Kopplin LJ, Igo RP Jr, et al. A multicenter study to map genes for Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy: baseline characteristics and heritability. Cornea. 2012;31:26–35.
    1. Krachmer JH, Purcell JJ Jr, Young CW, et al. Corneal endothelial dystrophy. A study of 64 families. Arch Ophthalmol. 1978;96:2036–2039.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources