Correlation between Ocular Biometric Parameters and Corneal Endothelium in a Sample of Young Egyptian Adults

Abstract

The corneal endothelium is one of the five layers of the cornea. These metabolically active cells are responsible for regulating fluid and solute transport and, hence, clarity of the cornea. In clinical practice, specular microscopy is the most accurate way to examine the corneal endothelium. In addition to the endothelial cell density, other important values that reflect the health of the corneal endothelium, as the hexagonality and the coefficient of variation are measured. Different studies have shown significant racial and ethnic differences in corneal endothelial properties. It is therefore important for populations of different racial and ethnic backgrounds to establish normative values on which decisions can be based. Also, the possible impact of different ocular biometric parameters on the measurement of the endothelium has largely been ignored in the normal eye. The aim of this prospective descriptive cross-sectional study was to have a better understanding of corneal endothelial features in different corneal regions in healthy young Egyptian adults and to assess the relationship between endothelial cell density and biometric parameters including refraction, horizontal corneal diameter, central corneal thickness, keratometry, anterior chamber depth, and axial length. This study investigated 150 right eyes from 150 healthy Egyptian adults, whose ages ranged from 20 to 30 years. The endothelial parameters were measured in 15 different points and the values for the endothelial cell density, hexagonality, and coefficient of variation were averaged in the 4 quadrants (upper, lower, nasal, and temporal), and again as three zones (central, paracentral, and peripheral zones). The mean central endothelial cell density in our study was 2903 cells/mm2, which was lower than the Chinese and Japanese populations and higher than the Indian, Iranian, and Turkish populations. There was a tendency for the endothelial cell density to increase from the center of the cornea towards the periphery.