title: Differences in central corneal thickness between the paired eyes and the severity of the glaucomatous damage.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate whether a difference in central corneal thickness (CCT) between the paired eyes could be associated to worse glaucoma in the thinner cornea eye.
  
  
  METHODS
  From 16 different glaucoma centres, at least 50 glaucomatous patients were saved on the Italian Glaucoma Register. Eight hundred and sixteen glaucomatous patients were found in the register. CCT, ophthalmoscopic cup/disc ratio, mean deviation (MD), pattern SD (PSD), and intraocular pressure (IOP). The difference (Δ) between the paired eyes was calculated for all the considered parameters and two subgroups were created on the basis of ΔCCT. Because the difference between the two eyes could be positive or negative, the absolute value of Δ was considered for all the measurements. Three different ΔCCT cutoffs were selected: 10, 15, and 20 μm. Student's t-test was used to compare the subgroups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  When the entire group was divided in two subgroups using 20 μm as ΔCCT cutoff, no significant difference was found for ΔIOP (-0.38 ± 2.53 (mean ± SD) mm Hg and -0.07 ± 2.35 mm Hg, respectively) between the two subgroups. Significant (P<0.001) difference was found for ΔMD (6.58 ± 7.30 and 3.14 ± 4.22 dB, respectively), ΔPSD (3.92 ± 4.01 and 2.16 ± 2.57, respectively), and ΔC/D (0.11 ± 0.14 and 0.08 ± 0.11, respectively) between the two subgroups. No significant correlation was found between ΔCCT and the other parameters.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The ΔCCT between the two eyes could be associated to a worse glaucoma in the thinner cornea eye.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio clinico anatomo-funzionale per la diagnosi e il trattamento del glaucoma e delle malattie neurooftalmologiche, Clinica Oculistica, Department of Neurological Sciences, Ophthalmology, Genetic, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy. iester@unige.it
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Iester
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Telani
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Frezzotti
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Manni
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Uva
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Figus
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Perdicchi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003315:Cornea / Q000473:pathology*; D063171:Corneal Pachymetry; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006068:Gonioscopy; D006801:Humans; D007429:Intraocular Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009898:Optic Disk / Q000473:pathology*; D009901:Optic Nerve Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012042:Registries; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology; D058609:Visual Field Tests; D014794:Visual Fields