[Characteristics of the iridocorneal angle in melanoderms].

INTRODUCTION

The iridocorneal angle is one of the major components of the eye. It constitutes the main pathway for aqueous humor resorption via the trabecular meshwork. The goal of this study was to investigate the iridocorneal angle in black patients and to determine any anatomical variants.

PATIENTS AND

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional study with prospective data collection, enrolling black patients admitted to the ophthalmology departments of Burkina University Medical Centers, running from March to August 2021. The sample consisted of black patients aged 18 years or over.

RESULTS

One hundred and forty-five (145) eyes of 92 patients constituted our study population. The mean age of the patients was 41 years. Males predominated, with a sex ratio of 1.3. The iridocorneal angle was open in 129 eyes (88.97%) and occludable in 16 eyes (11.03%). The lower quadrant was the most pigmented. One hundred and nineteen (82.06%) eyes had convex peripheral iris curvature. Van Herick's grade 3 test was 100% concordant with gonioscopy in the detection of open angles. There was a statistically significant relationship between iridocorneal angle depth and age (P=0.000).

CONCLUSION

The iridocorneal angles in our study population were predominantly open, with low pigmentation and convex peripheral iris curvature. Good sensitivity between the Van Herick's test and gonioscopy was found in eyes of grades 3 and 4.