Bozkurt, BanuYilmaz, MevlutMesen, AliKamis, UmitKoktekir, Bengu EkinciOkudan, Suleyman2020-03-262020-03-2620171300-06592147-2661https://dx.doi.org/10.4274/tjo.22800https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12395/34932Objectives: To examine changes in corneal endothelial cell density (ECD) in different stages of keratoconus and evaluate its correlation with corneal tomographic parameters. Materials and Methods: Two hundred six patients with keratoconus were enrolled in the study. Corneal topography was performed by Sirius (CSO, Italy), which has a rotating Scheimpflug camera and a Placido disc topographer. Automatic endothelial analysis was done with the non-contact endothelial microscope (20x probe) of Confoscan-4 (NIDEK, Japan). The eyes were classified into stages based on steepest keratometric value as follows: mild <45 D; moderate 45-52 D; severe >52 D and according to thinnest cornea thickness (TCT) as <400 mu m, 400-450 mu m, and >450 mu m. Tomographic and endothelial cell parameters were compared among the groups using Kruskal-Wallis test and the correlations between them were analyzed using Spearman correlation. Results: The study included 391 eyes of 100 male (24.29 +/- 7.7 years, range 11-47 years) and 106 female (26.26 +/- 7.5 years, range 13-45 years) patients (p=0.07). Mean ECD values were 2628 +/- 262 cells/mm(2), 2541.9 +/- 260.4 cells/mm(2), and 2414.6 +/- 384.3 cells/mm(2) in mild, moderate, and severe keratoconus, respectively (p<0.001) and 2592.3 +/- 277 cells/mm(2), 2502 +/- 307 cells/mm(2) and 2348 +/- 296 cells/mm(2) in corneas with TCT values >450 mu m, 400-450 mu m, and <400 mu m, respectively (p<0.001). ECD showed significant negative correlation with keratometric and elevation parameters and positive correlation with pachymetric parameters (p<0.05). Conclusion: As endothelial cell numbers seem to decrease with the progression of keratoconus, specular/confocal microscopy screening should be carried out, especially in eyes with advanced stages and corneas with TCT <400 mu m.en10.4274/tjo.22800info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessKeratoconuscornea endothelial cell densitycorneal tomographyspecular microscopymorphological changesArticle47525526029109893N/AWOS:000424255000004N/A