Correlation of Corneal Biomechanical Stiffness With Refractive Error and Ocular Biometry in a Pediatric Population

Purpose: To assess the correlation between corneal biomechanical stiffness and refractive error (RE) in the pediatric population. Methods: A total of 733 pediatric eyes were included in the study retrospectively. All eyes underwent corneal tomography (Pentacam), RE assessment, and air-puff deformation (Corvis-ST). Waveform analyses of deformation provided corneal stiffness (CS) and extraocular tissue stiffness (EOS). Eyes were subgrouped into emmetropia [manifest refraction spherical equivalent (MRSE) ∼ 0 D], hyperopia (MRSE> 0 D), myopia I (MRSE between 0 D and −3 D), myopia II (MRSE between −3 D and −6 D), and myopia III (MRSE greater than −6 D) for multivariate analyses. Ocular biometry variables [age, intraocular pressure (IOP), central corneal thickness (CCT), corneal astigmatism, anterior chamber depth, and RE] were used as covariates. The apparent elastic modulus (E) was defined as the ratio of CS and CCT. Results: All groups had similar age, CCT, and IOP (P> 0.05). CS was the only parameter to differ between all the grades of myopia (P
Source: Cornea - Category: Opthalmology Tags: Clinical Science Source Type: research