Assessment of corneal endothelial cell density in patients with keratoconus not using contact lenses.

Purpose: To assess the corneal endothelial cell density (ECD) in keratoconus patients with no history of contact lens use.

Setting: Yuzuncu Yil University, School of Medicine and Van Training and Research Hospital, Department of Ophthalmology, Van, Turkey.

Design: Cross-sectional controlled study.

Methods: The eyes of 65 patients with the diagnosis of keratoconus with no history of contact lens wear and the eyes of 40 healthy controls were prospectively examined using the Heidelberg Retinal Tomography Rostock Cornea Module (HRT3/RCM). The average ECD from the two groups were then compared.

Results: Of the cases with keratoconus, 44 (67.7%) were men and 21 (32.3%) were women. The mean age was 20.9±6.8 (range=10-41) years. Of the controls, 28 (70%) were men and 12 (30%) were women. The mean age was 23.9±5.8 (range=14-35) years. Of the 65 eyes with keratoconus, 19 (29.2%) had mild keratoconus, 21 (32.3%) had moderate keratoconus, and 25 (38.5%) had severe keratoconus. The mean ECD was 2731.6±303.2 cells/mm2 in cases with keratoconus and 2664.9±319.5 cells/mm2 in controls. There was no difference between the densities (unpaired t-test, P=0.4). No significant relationships were found between the ECD data and central corneal thickness or steepest keratometric.

Conclusions: Endothelial cell density was unaltered in keratoconic patients without a history of contact lens use when compared with healthy controls. Change in ECD is independent from the central corneal thickness and the stage of keratoconus.