COMPARISON OF OCULAR SURFACE AND ANTERIOR SEGMENT PARAMETERS OF THE AFFECTED AND FELLOW EYES IN PATIENTS WITH TRIGEMINAL NEURALGIA: A TOPOGRAPHY AND AS-OCT ANALYSES

To compare anterior segment and ocular surface characteristics between the affected and fellow eyes of patients with trigeminal neuralgia using corneal topography with tear film analyses and meibography, together with AS-OCT–derived epithelial thickness.

This prospective, single-center study was conducted in the Department of Ophthalmology at Dışkapı Yıldırım Beyazıt Training and Research Hospital, a tertiary referral center in Ankara, Türkiye.

Fifteen patients with trigeminal neuralgia were prospectively evaluated. Anterior segment and ocular surface measurements of the affected and fellow eyes were obtained using the Sirius topography system (CSO, Florence, Italy), including tear film analyses and meibography. AS-OCT (RTVue-XR, Optovue Inc., Fremont, CA) was used to assess corneal epithelial thickness. Eyes with prior ocular surgery, ocular surface disease, corneal ectasia, or contact lens wear were excluded. Affected and fellow eyes were compared using paired-eye analysis. Evaluated parameters included non-invasive first and average tear break-up time (NIF-TBUT, NIAvg-TBUT), pachymetry, iridocorneal angle (ICA), corneal volume (CV), horizontal anterior chamber diameter (HACD), average K, corneal curvature, epithelial thickness, and upper/lower meibography loss. Normality was assessed using the Shapiro–Wilk test; paired t-tests or Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were applied accordingly. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

A total of 15 patients were included, 10 females and 5 males. The mean age was 60.7 ± 10.1 years, and the mean duration of follow-up for trigeminal neuralgia was 5.9 ± 7.7 years. There were no statistically significant differences between the affected and fellow eyes in any of the evaluated parameters, including NIF-TBUT, NIAvg-TBUT, epithelial thickness, pachymetry, ICA, CV, HACD, average K, curvature, or meibography loss (all p>0.05).

Anterior segment and ocular surface characteristics did not differ between the affected and fellow eyes of patients with trigeminal neuralgia. These findings suggest that trigeminal neuralgia may not cause measurable alterations in the corneal surface or anterior segment parameters.