CENTRAL AND PERIPHERAL CORNEAL THICKNESS IN KERATOCONUS AND NORMAL-PATIENT GROUPS

Central and peripheral (superior, inferior, nasal, and temporal) corne al thickness was measured in patients with and without keratoconus usi ng ultrasonic pachometry. In 28 normal eyes (14 patients) mean central corneal thickness (CCT) was 0.56 +/- 0.02 mm and the mean difference in thickness between the mean peripheral corneal thickness (PCT) and C CT was 0.24 mm. In 28 keratoconic eyes (14 patients) CCT was 0.52 +/- 0.04 mm, and PCT - CCT was 0.29 mm. For keratoconic right eyes, CCT an d PCT-CCT were significantly different from normals (p = 0.01). Additi onal studies within the normal patient group showed no diurnal or day- to-day variations in CCT; they also confirmed the repeatability of the measurements.