The Influence of Corneal Thickness on Surgically Induced Corneal Astigmatism Derived from Total Keratometry Measured by Anterior Segment Swept-Source OCT.

Introduction: The purpose of the study was to explore the possible correlations between the anterior segment parameters derived from anterior segment swept-source optical coherence tomography (AS-SS-OCT) with the surgically induced corneal astigmatism (CSIA) calculated from total keratometry (TK) measured by AS-SS-OCT.

Methods: Seventy-one eyes of 67 patients with age-related cataract who underwent phacoemulsification combined with intraocular lens implantation with 2.2-mm incision were included. The CSIA values were calculated from anterior keratometry (CSIA) and TK (CSIA) measured by AS-SS-OCT, respectively. Hotelling's T test was used to evaluate the difference. The correlation of CSIA with various parameters derived from AS-SS-OCT was tested with the Spearman correlation coefficient.

Results: The centroid of CSIA and of CSIA were 0.31 ± 0.55 D @ 54° and 0.41 ± 0.59 D @ 51°, with no significant difference (F = 1.283, p = 0.281, Hotelling's T). The mean absolute CSIA and CSIA were 0.58 ± 0.24 D and 0.65 ± 0.28 D. Spearman test showed that the magnitude of CSIA was negatively correlated with preoperative peripheral corneal thickness (PCT, p = 0.045) and the magnitude of anterior keratometry (p = 0.044). The magnitude of CSIA was negatively correlated with preoperative central corneal thickness (CCT, p = 0.003) and preoperative PCT (p = 0.015).

Conclusions: The increased thickness of the peripheral cornea is correlated with the decrease in the magnitude of the CSIA. The correlation we identified between the corneal thickness and the CSIA indicated that certain preoperative parameters should be considered for the prediction of CSIA for a more precise refractive outcome.