Comparison of baseline biometry measures in eyes with pediatric cataract to age-matched controls.

PURPOSE: To compare baseline biometry measurements in eyes with pediatric cataract versus age-matched controls METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study conducted at a tertiary care hospital that included two arms-prospective arm to collect data from normal eyes and retrospective arm for eyes with pediatric cataract. In the prospective arm, biometry measurements were obtained in healthy children aged 0 to 10 years. Children under the age of four had measurements under anesthesia for an unrelated procedure, while older children had in-office measurements using optical biometry. For comparison, biometric data was collected in children with pediatric cataract through record review. One eye of each patient was randomly selected. Axial length (AL) and keratometry (K) were compared by age and laterality. The medians were compared using Wilcoxon rank-sum tests and variances using Levene's test.

RESULTS: There were 100 eyes in each arm, 10 eyes in each age bin of 1-year interval. There was more variability in baseline biometry in eyes with pediatric cataract and a trend for longer AL and steeper K in cataract eyes than aged-matched controls. The difference in AL means was significant in age group 2-4 years, and variances were significant across all age groups (p=0.018). Unilateral cataracts (n=49) showed a trend toward greater variability in biometry than bilateral cataracts, but this did not reach statistical significance.

CONCLUSION: Baseline biometry measures are more variable in eyes with pediatric cataract compared to age-matched controls with a trend toward longer AL and steeper K.