Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: To identify if resultant central corneal thicknesses (CCTs) post–PRK can predict IOP pressure spikes. Methods: In a retrospective chart review of 4083 patients undergoing PRK, 350 patients were identified with post–operative intraocular pressure (IOP) rises above 29mmHg and absolute IOP rises greater 8mmHg. CCTs of these patients were noted pre– and post–operatively and were stratified by month of IOP spike, age and gender and compared against a randomly selected group of controls without IOP elevations through 1 year of follow–up. Results: In patients with IOP spikes at the one month point, resultant CCTs for all age groups averaged 522uM versus a randomly selected group of controls with resultant CCTs of 494uM. Sub–selecting for age groups, the 30–39 year old group with 1 month IOP spikes had resultant CCTs of 525uM. These were statistically significant (p=0.004 and p=0.009, respectively). There was no predictive value for IOP spikes when subdivided by gender, other age groups or CCTs with spikes at the 2, 3, 4, 6 and 12 month intervals versus controls. The overall rate of IOP spikes was 9%. Conclusions: There is no correlation between increased IOP spikes >29mmHg with absolute IOP rises >8mmHg and resultant thinner CCTs post–PRK versus a randomly selected set of patients without IOP spikes through one year of follow–up. However, larger resultant CCTs were statistically more likely to have IOP spikes at the one month and one month age 30–39 subgroup versus randomly selected controls. The IOP responder rate was similar to reported response rates for the general population.
Keywords: corticosteroids • intraocular pressure • laser