Abstract
Purpose :
There is a paucity of data on intraocular pressure related clinical characteristics of pediatric subjects with ocular hypertension (OHTN). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical characteristics of pediatric subjects with OHTN and to analyze the relationship between intraocular pressure (IOP) and central corneal thickness (CCT) measurements in this population.
Methods :
This was a retrospective, observational study undertaken at a single university clinic setting. The clinical records of pediatric patients between 1-16 years of age were evaluated. Patients with a prior history of intraocular surgery were excluded. IOP, CCT, optic nerve cup-to-disc ratio (CDR), as well as systemic/neurologic problems, were recorded. OHTN was defined as an IOP measurement of ≥21 mmHg. Statistical evaluations were performed using the Student’s t-test and Pearson correlation analysis. Data from right and the left eyes were separately evaluated in correlative analyses.
Results :
Fifteen subjects (7 males/8 females) with a mean age of 8.2±4.5 years (range=1-15 years) were included in the study. Of these subjects, 40% were Hispanic, 30% were Caucasian and 26.7% were African-American in descent. Two (13.3%) patients had developmental delay and 3 (20%) had a history of prematurity. IOP elevation of ≥ 21mmHg was detected in both eyes in 9 (60%) subjects. Three subjects (20%) were on topical hypotensive medications. The mean IOP of right vs. left eye were similar (24.5±3.7 mmHg vs. 23.2±4.5 mmHg; p=0.375). The mean CCT of right vs. left eyes were also similar (618.1±29.2 microns vs. 617.7±39.5 microns; p=0.957). The mean CDR was 0.39±0.17 for the right and 0.41±0.19 for the left eyes. The IOP parameter did not correlate to a significant degree with either CCT (OD: r=0.320, p=0.367; OS: r=-0.211, p=0.558) or CDR (OD: r=0.189; p=0.500; OS: r=0.091, p=0.747).
Conclusions :
IOP does not appear to be related to CCT in pediatric ocular hypertensive subjects who do not have any evidence of glaucomatous optic nerve damage. IOP adjustments based on CCT are not recommended in the pediatric age group.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.