Abstract
Purpose :
To evaluate the changes in corneal endothelial cell density (CECD) over time in patients with dry eye disease (DED)
Methods :
This retrospective study included 40 eyes of 20 patients with mild to moderate DED (60.4 ± 12.3 years old). Laser in vivo confocal microscopy was performed of the central cornea in both eyes and was repeated after a mean follow-up of 33.2 ± 10.2 months (range, 21-57 months). The densities of corneal endothelial cells and subbasal nerves were measured using the variable-frame method and NeuronJ tracing, respectively, and compared with 13 eyes of age-matched controls (56.8 ± 4.8 years old).
Results :
At the initial visit, the DED group had lower densities of CECD (2619.9 ± 385.6 cells/mm2) and subbasal nerves (17.8 ± 7.5 mm/mm2) compared to the control group (2861.0 ± 292.3 cells/mm2 and 22.8 ± 3.0 mm/mm2, with P=0.07 and P=0.01, respectively). At the last follow-up, although the subbasal nerve density remained similar (16.7 ± 7.2 mm/mm2, P=0.43), the mean CECD decreased to 2465.1 ± 391.2 cells/mm2 (P=0.01), with a mean corneal endothelial loss of 2.1 ± 3.6% per year. The endothelial cell loss showed a statistically significant negative correlation with initial subbasal nerve density (Rs= -0.55, P=0.02). Although the initial CECD had significant correlation with age (Rs= -0.60, P=0.01), the endothelial cell loss over time did not correlate with age.
Conclusions :
Patients with DED have increased progressive corneal endothelial cell loss compared to age-matched controls. Lower subbasal nerve density is a risk factor for increased endothelial cell loss over time.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2016 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, Wash., May 1-5, 2016.