Correlations of Corneal Optical Densitometry, Endothelial Hexagonality Percentage, and Epithelium Thickness

Abstract

Purpose: Our aim was to examine the associations between the cornea morphological parameters, endothelial cell density, and anterior chamber measurements. Methods: This observational study included 50 eyes of 50 healthy volunteers. The thicknesses of corneal epithelium, Bowman’s layer, stroma, Descemet’s membrane–endothelium complex, and pre-ocular tear film were measured by means of anterior segment optical coherence tomography. The keratometry (K), corneal volume (CV), corneal optical densitometry (COD), iridocorneal angle (ICA), anterior chamber depth (ACD), and anterior chamber volume (ACV) measurements were taken by the Scheimpflug anterior segment imaging. The corneal endothelial cell density and percentage of hexagonality were measured by specular microscopy. Results: The COD was only correlated with the thickness of Bowman’s layer (r = -0.30, p = 0.035). The hexagonal endothelial cell percentage was correlated with the thickness of the pre-ocular tear film (r = -0.50, p < 0.001), ACD (r = 0.40, p = 0.004), and ACV (r = 0.34, p = 0.015). The corneal epithelium thickness was associated with the ACD (r = 0.30, p = 0.034), ACV (r = 0.34, p = 0.018), K-flat (r = -0.35, p = 0.013), and K-steep (r = -0.29, p = 0.038) readings. Conclusions: The anterior chamber morphological parameters (i.e., ACV, ACD) were significantly positively correlated with the hexagonal endothelial cell percentage and corneal epithelium thickness in healthy adults. © 2017 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.