Longitudinal Evaluation of Central Corneal Thickness in Patients With Systemic Sclerosis.

PURPOSE: To investigate the longitudinal change of central corneal thickness (CCT) in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and to elucidate whether it contributes to misinterpretation of intraocular pressure (IOP) in this group of patients.

METHODS

Twenty patients with SSc and 20 sex- and age-matched controls were examined at 2 visits 5 years apart. Age, sex, race, subtype of SSc, disease duration, autoantibody profile, use of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), best-corrected visual acuity, spherical equivalent refraction, IOP, and CCT were recorded. IOP was assessed by applanation tonometry and CCT by ultrasonic pachymetry.

RESULTS

CCT decreased by 7.2 μm [95% confidence interval (CI), -2.1 to -12.2 μm] between the first and second measurements (P = 0.008) in patients with SSc and by 2.4 μm (P = 0.39, 95% CI, -8.0 to 3.3 μm) in the control group. Considering patients with SSc, CCT decreased by a mean of 11.6 μm [95% CI, -4.3 to -19.0 μm (P = 0.007)] among those taking DMARDs at the second visit and by 4.2 μm [95% CI, -3.0 to -11.5 μm (P = 0.2)] in patients not taking any DMARDs. There was no statistically significant change in IOP between the 2 visits for either the SSc group (P = 0.84) or the control group (P = 0.29). Mean change in CCT was not associated with either IOP at first visit or with change in IOP in SSc patients.

CONCLUSIONS

CCT decreased with time in SSc. However, the slight rates of thinning observed are unlikely to considerably influence applanation tonometry or clinical decision-making over the short to intermediate term.