Abstract
Purpose:
To evaluate changes on endothelial cell density and morphology in patients with clinical diagnosis of chronic uveitis.
Methods:
Observational case series of 21 eyes of 15 patients with chronic uveitis (4 patients with Fuchs Heterocromic Uveitis, 3 Herpes Simplex, 3 toxoplasmosis, 2 Vogt Koyanagi Harada Syndrome, 1 Syphilis, 1 Behcet and 1 Pars Planitis) in group 1 and 15 healthy subjects in group 2 were evaluated with corneal specular microscopy (EM3000, Tomey). Main outcome measurements compared between groups were endothelial cell density, coefficient of size variation (polymegatism) and hexagonality (pleomorphism). Patients with previous ocular surgery, glaucoma, or any other ocular disease, which we considered could produce endothelial injury, were excluded from the study. Student t test was used to compare means between groups. The statistical significance criteria used was p <0.05.
Results:
In group 1 vs group 2, mean age (40±15 vs 42±14 yrs) and gender distribution (33% vs 33% males) did not differ significantly. Between groups there were no significant differences in endothelial cell density (2515±431 vs 2631±234 cells/mm2), polymegatism (41.00±8.32 vs 40.55±6.84) but did differ in pleomorphism (50.82±8.61 vs 45.86±8.80, p=0,0056).
Conclusions:
No differences were found in endothelial cell density and polymegatism. The magnitude of the detected differences in pleomorphism although statistically significant, is not clinically relevant. Inflammation seems to have minimum impact on corneal endothelium from patients with chronic uveitis.
Keywords: 746 uveitis-clinical/animal model •
481 cornea: endothelium •
557 inflammation