Prevalence and morphometric characteristics of primary cornea guttata in a Hispanic population.

Abstract

Purpose: To describe the prevalence and the corneal endothelium´s morphology in Hispanic patients with primary corneal guttata (PCG).

Methods: Retrospective comparative study of PCG and healthy individuals.

Results: 122 (17.38%) PCG out of 702 eyes from 356 healthy patients with no surgeries nor a familiar history of Fuchs´ dystrophy were studied. The mean age of PCG patients was 68.12 ± 10.59 years (45-88 years). While the mean cell density (MCD) in PCG group was 1893.61 ± 597.01 cells/mm², the cell area was 590.67 ± 257.57 µm², and the central corneal thickness (CCT) was 527.67 ± 46.56 µm, in healthy control group, the MCD was 2341.89 ± 488.07 cells/mm² (p < 0.0001), the mean cell area was 428.99 ± 166.62 µm²(p < 0.0001), and the mean CCT was 521.24 ± 39.87 µm (p = 0.74). 64.75% of patients had polymegethism and 81.15% had pleomorphism. 83.88% of patients had less than 25% of the total area affected. Females predominate the PCG group (65.57%), and they exhibit significantly higher rates of polymegethism (59.49%) and pleomorphism (63.64%).

Conclusion: A high proportion of PCG was observed in this Hispanic population. These patients show a lower-than-average MCD compared to a healthy population. A high rate of polymegethism and pleomorphism was observed, particularly in females, where PCG was more frequent.