Comparison Of Epithelial And Stromal Thickness In Healthy And Keratoconus Eyes In The Mexican Population.

Currently, there is limited data on corneal morphological changes in the Mexican population. This study aims to analyze and compare corneal epithelial and stromal thickness, as well as topographic parameters, in healthy eyes and keratoconus patients using the MS-39 anterior segment tomographer. Identifying significant differences in these parameters may enhance the understanding of keratoconus progression and aid in early detection.

Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey

A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted, including 43 healthy eyes and 23 eyes with keratoconus. Data were obtained using the MS-39 tomographer, analyzing parameters such as minimum and central pachymetry, epithelial minimum and maximum thickness, minimum stromal thickness, K1, K2, K average values, thickness simetry index (TSI) TImax (which represents the maximum difference in the percentage of thickness increase between the actual pachymetry and the 95th percentile of the healthy population, and EpiTI. Normality tests were performed, followed by Student’s t-test for normally distributed variables to assess statistical differences.

Keratoconus eyes showed significantly lower values of minimum pachymetry, epithelial minimum thickness, stromal minimum thickness, and central pachymetry compared to healthy eyes. Additionally, keratoconus eyes exhibited significantly higher values of K back maximum, K2, K average, cylinder, TSI, TImax, and EpiTI (which measures the difference between the peithelial thickness profile of the patient and the normative database). These findings highlight the structural differences between the groups, particularly in epithelial remodeling and stromal thinning.

Our study confirms that keratoconus significantly alters corneal morphology, particularly in epithelial and stromal thickness and topographic indices, in the Mexican population. The MS-39 tomographer provides detailed insights into these changes, supporting its role in keratoconus diagnosis and monitoring. Further research is needed to establish predictive models for early detection based on epithelial mapping.