Abstract

BENITEZ MERINO, María del Carmen et al. Study of the corneal endothelium confocal microscopy in keratoconus. Rev Cubana Oftalmol [online]. 2011, vol.24, n.2, pp. 312-323. ISSN 0864-2176.

Objective: To describe the morphometric findings of the corneal endothelium confocal microscopy with CONFOSCAN S-4 Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study of 102 eyes with keratoconus performed from September 2008 to September 2009. The study patients had undergone confocal microscopy with CONFOSCAN S-4 in order to study their corneal endothelium according to the keratoconus condition. The evolution of keratoconus was analyzed in terms of age and sex. Tailor-made software made the analysis and processing of images possible. Results: The ages of patients with keratoconus grades I and II, (35,2 and 34,7 years) were pretty similar whereas the average age of keratoconus grade III patients (38,4 years) was higher, but no significant differences were found (p=0,279). Females prevailed (in our study accounting for 80,4%. One hundred percent of keratoconus grade III presented with pathological endothelium. The values averages of the cell density in the keratoconus grade III (2585,9 cell/mm2) it was not significant (p= 0,339). The polymegathism of 48, 69% in the keratoconus grade III were significant (p= 0,002). As for the pleomorphism, the differences were statistically significant among the three grades (p= 0,002) Conclusions: Keratoconus grade II prevailed in women and the grade I in men. From the morphological point of view, the morphological findings lied in the form and size of the endothelial cells. Keratoconus grade II and II showed a combination of medium and large cells and loss of hexagonal shape. The cell density was within the normal range of values for any keratoconus grade.

Keywords : Keratoconus; confocal microscopy; corneal endothelium.

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