Corneal Epithelial Thickness Measured by Manual Electronic Caliper Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography: Distributions and Demographic Correlations in Preoperative Refractive Surgery Patients

Purpose: The aim of this study was to report the distributions and demographic correlations of corneal epithelial thickness measured by manual electronic caliper spectral domain optical coherence tomography in preoperative refractive surgery patients. Design: This was a retrospective review. Methods: The charts of 218 consecutive patients (413 eyes) who presented for refractive surgery evaluation from April 2013 through September 2013 were retrospectively reviewed. Results: The mean corneal epithelial thickness was 51.0 mu m with a range of 43 to 61 mu m. Corneal epithelial thickness was significantly correlated with sex (P < 0.0001), corneal keratometry (P = 0.01), and underlying corneal thickness excluding the epithelium (P = 0.0268). No significant associations were identified in which corneal epithelial thickness correlated with either age (P = 0.0760) or existing refractive status of the eye (P = 0.5135). Conclusions: Corneal epithelial thickness measured by manual electronic caliper optical coherence tomography in preoperative refractive surgery patients is comparable with the findings for the general population using other measurement techniques, the awareness of which may be useful in the preoperative assessment of these patients.