The intra- and inter-day repeatability of corneal densitometry measurements in subjects with keratoconus and in healthy controls
Abstract The healthy cornea is transparent, however, disease can affect its structure, rendering it more or less opaque. The ability to assess the clarity of the cornea objectively could thus be of considerable interest for keratoconus patients. It has previously been suggested that densitometry can...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2023-04-01
|
| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-32822-y |
| _version_ | 1797850113519910912 |
|---|---|
| author | Ingemar Gustafsson Dimitrios Bizios Anders Ivarsen Jesper Ø. Hjortdal |
| author_facet | Ingemar Gustafsson Dimitrios Bizios Anders Ivarsen Jesper Ø. Hjortdal |
| author_sort | Ingemar Gustafsson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The healthy cornea is transparent, however, disease can affect its structure, rendering it more or less opaque. The ability to assess the clarity of the cornea objectively could thus be of considerable interest for keratoconus patients. It has previously been suggested that densitometry can be used to diagnose early keratoconus, and that the values of densitometry variables increase with increasing disease severity, indicating that densitometry could also be used to assess progressive keratoconus. Previous studies have only assessed the repeatability of corneal densitometry measurements on the same day, which does not reflect the clinical setting in which changes are evaluated over time. We have therefore evaluated the inter-day repeatability of densitometry measurements in both patients with keratoconus and healthy controls. Measurements in the middle layer of the 2–6 mm zone of the cornea showed the best repeatability. Although an objective measure of the corneal transparency could be interesting, the generally poor repeatability of densitometry measurements limits their use. The repeatability of corneal clarity measurements could be improved by using other approaches such as optical coherence tomography, but this remains to be investigated. Such improvements would allow the more widespread use of corneal densitometry in clinical practice. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T18:55:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9d7a979e2c7d431499263fb9b0c6c81c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T18:55:07Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-9d7a979e2c7d431499263fb9b0c6c81c2023-04-09T11:14:37ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222023-04-0113111010.1038/s41598-023-32822-yThe intra- and inter-day repeatability of corneal densitometry measurements in subjects with keratoconus and in healthy controlsIngemar Gustafsson0Dimitrios Bizios1Anders Ivarsen2Jesper Ø. Hjortdal3Department of Clinical Sciences, Ophthalmology, Lund UniversityDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Ophthalmology, Lund UniversityDepartment of Ophthalmology, Aarhus University HospitalDepartment of Ophthalmology, Aarhus University HospitalAbstract The healthy cornea is transparent, however, disease can affect its structure, rendering it more or less opaque. The ability to assess the clarity of the cornea objectively could thus be of considerable interest for keratoconus patients. It has previously been suggested that densitometry can be used to diagnose early keratoconus, and that the values of densitometry variables increase with increasing disease severity, indicating that densitometry could also be used to assess progressive keratoconus. Previous studies have only assessed the repeatability of corneal densitometry measurements on the same day, which does not reflect the clinical setting in which changes are evaluated over time. We have therefore evaluated the inter-day repeatability of densitometry measurements in both patients with keratoconus and healthy controls. Measurements in the middle layer of the 2–6 mm zone of the cornea showed the best repeatability. Although an objective measure of the corneal transparency could be interesting, the generally poor repeatability of densitometry measurements limits their use. The repeatability of corneal clarity measurements could be improved by using other approaches such as optical coherence tomography, but this remains to be investigated. Such improvements would allow the more widespread use of corneal densitometry in clinical practice.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-32822-y |
| spellingShingle | Ingemar Gustafsson Dimitrios Bizios Anders Ivarsen Jesper Ø. Hjortdal The intra- and inter-day repeatability of corneal densitometry measurements in subjects with keratoconus and in healthy controls Scientific Reports |
| title | The intra- and inter-day repeatability of corneal densitometry measurements in subjects with keratoconus and in healthy controls |
| title_full | The intra- and inter-day repeatability of corneal densitometry measurements in subjects with keratoconus and in healthy controls |
| title_fullStr | The intra- and inter-day repeatability of corneal densitometry measurements in subjects with keratoconus and in healthy controls |
| title_full_unstemmed | The intra- and inter-day repeatability of corneal densitometry measurements in subjects with keratoconus and in healthy controls |
| title_short | The intra- and inter-day repeatability of corneal densitometry measurements in subjects with keratoconus and in healthy controls |
| title_sort | intra and inter day repeatability of corneal densitometry measurements in subjects with keratoconus and in healthy controls |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-32822-y |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ingemargustafsson theintraandinterdayrepeatabilityofcornealdensitometrymeasurementsinsubjectswithkeratoconusandinhealthycontrols AT dimitriosbizios theintraandinterdayrepeatabilityofcornealdensitometrymeasurementsinsubjectswithkeratoconusandinhealthycontrols AT andersivarsen theintraandinterdayrepeatabilityofcornealdensitometrymeasurementsinsubjectswithkeratoconusandinhealthycontrols AT jesperøhjortdal theintraandinterdayrepeatabilityofcornealdensitometrymeasurementsinsubjectswithkeratoconusandinhealthycontrols AT ingemargustafsson intraandinterdayrepeatabilityofcornealdensitometrymeasurementsinsubjectswithkeratoconusandinhealthycontrols AT dimitriosbizios intraandinterdayrepeatabilityofcornealdensitometrymeasurementsinsubjectswithkeratoconusandinhealthycontrols AT andersivarsen intraandinterdayrepeatabilityofcornealdensitometrymeasurementsinsubjectswithkeratoconusandinhealthycontrols AT jesperøhjortdal intraandinterdayrepeatabilityofcornealdensitometrymeasurementsinsubjectswithkeratoconusandinhealthycontrols |