Prediction of a reliable method for the estimation of central corneal thickness in diabetic patients with and without diabetic retinopathy

ABSTRACT Background This study aimed to analyze the central corneal thickness (CCT) in diabetic patients with and without diabetic retinopathy (DR) by investigating the impacts of other CCT factors such as hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels, diabetes mellitus (DM) duration, and the DR stages. The study also compared the results of two measuring devices – anterior segment-optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) and ultrasound pachymetry (UP). However, the existing research possesses bias in revealing the precise measurement of CCT. Research design and methods The study enrolled 300 participants who were segregated into three equal groups: group A with DR, group B without DR, and the control group. The study tested the following formulated hypothesis, like the correlation between the age, duration, and HbA1c level of diabetic patients with DR and without DR. The effectiveness of the AS-OCT and UP was assessed through statistical analysis. Results The experiment revealed a considerable statistical difference in the formulated hypothesis and observed that AS-OCT had higher efficacy than UP in estimating CCT in all the groups. Conclusions The study recommends the prompt utilization of devices such as AS-OCT to precisely predict CCT. This could greatly benefit DM patients with retinopathy conditions for better decision-making and reliable measures during glaucoma surgery.