Correlation Between Central Corneal Thickness and Radial Peripapillary Capillary Density, in Patients With Ocular Hypertension

Elpida Kollia,Dimitrios Papaconstantinou,Ilias Georgalas,Eleni Patsea,Dimitrios Brouzas

doi:10.7759/cureus.17138

Abstract

PurposeTo investigate any possible relationship between the central corneal thickness and the radial peripapillary capillary density detected by optical coherence tomography (OCT) angiography in eyes with ocular hypertension.Materials and methodsIn this observational study, 135 eyes were examined. OCT angiography of the optic disc (4.5 mm) and ultrasound corneal pachymetry were performed in all cases. Age, medical treatment for ocular hypertension, sex, and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness were evaluated. The main indices of blood flow were also examined. Spearman correlation coefficients were used to explore the association between two continuous variables.ResultsA directly proportional significance regarding the correlation between central corneal thickness and radial peripapillary network was indicated in eyes with ocular hypertension (p = .036).ConclusionsCentral corneal thickness and radial peripapillary capillary density constitute two essential screening parameters for patients with ocular hypertension.

Highlights

Ocular hypertension (OH) is defined as a condition in which the intraocular pressure (IOP) is greater than 21 mmHg in one or both eyes, with no evident glaucomatous defect
optical coherence tomography (OCT) angiography of the optic disc (4.5 mm) and ultrasound corneal pachymetry were performed in all cases
A directly proportional significance regarding the correlation between central corneal thickness and radial peripapillary network was indicated in eyes with ocular hypertension (p = .036)

Summary

Introduction

Ocular hypertension (OH) is defined as a condition in which the intraocular pressure (IOP) is greater than 21 mmHg in one or both eyes, with no evident glaucomatous defect. As reviewed in the Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study (OHTS), CCT may affect the accuracy of applanation tonometry in the screening and clinical treatment of patients with glaucoma and ocular hypertension It has been studied in terms of its direct interrelationship with ocular pressure [2,8,9,10,11]. The recently released technology of optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) constitutes a novel, non-invasive imaging method that detects blood flow in the retina and optic nerve head. It uses variations in the intensity and/or phase properties of the OCT signals that result from the movement of blood over multiple B-scans to generate a high-resolution map of the microcirculation. The principal aim of our study was to substantiate any correlation between CCT and radial peripapillary capillary density (RPC) in patients with ocular hypertension in terms of early and thorough clinical assessment of this entity

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