Epithelial Remodeling Following Phacoemulsification in Diabetic Patients Using Anterior-Segment Optical Coherence Tomography: A Comparative Study

Figures & data

Table 1 Comparison of Means of Baseline Corneal Epithelial Thickness for Diabetic and Nondiabetic Groups

Baseline Measurements
t-test for Equality of Means
	Epithelial Thickness		P (-Two-Tailed)	Mean Difference	SD
	Group A	Group B
Central	53.36 µm	52.56 µm	P=0.336	0.80	0.82
Middle	52.75 µm	51.95 µm	P=0.282	0.80	0.74
Peripheral	52.62 µm	51.87 µm	P=0.366	0.74	0.82

Table 2 Mean Change in Epithelial Thickness on the First Postoperative Day

Mean Change from Baseline
		Mean Change (in µm)	SD	Mean Change (%)	P (Two-Tailed)
Group A	Central	3.80	2.10	7.2	<0.001
	Middle	3.85	2.15	7.3	<0.001
	Peripheral	3.61	2.24	6.9	<0.001
Group B	Central	3.40	2.14	6.6	<0.001
	Middle	3.15	1.97	6.2	<0.001
	Peripheral	3.07	2.22	6.2	<0.001

Table 3 Mean Change in Epithelial Thickness 1 Week Postoperatively in Comparison with the First Postoperative Day

Mean Change 1 Week Postoperatively
		n	Mean Change (µm)	SD	P (Two-Tailed)
Group A	Central	25	−2.76	2.71	<0.001
	Middle		−2.67	2.13	<0.001
	Peripheral		−2.73	1.99	<0.001
Group B	Central	25	−2.40	3.12	0.001
	Middle		−2.42	2.28	<0.001
	Peripheral		−2.85	2.44	<0.001

Table 4 Mean Change in Epithelial Thickness 1 Month Postoperatively in Comparison with the first Postoperative Week

Mean Change in First-Month Postoperative Thicknesses
		n	Mean Change (µm)	SD	P (Two-Tailed)
Group A	Central	25	−0.80	1.97	0.054
	Middle		−1.05	2.23	0.026
	Peripheral		−0.68	1.59	0.042
Group B	Central	25	−0.85	3.18	0.193
	Middle		−0.39	2.98	0.515
	Peripheral		−0.22	3.39	0.740

Figure 1 SD-OCT of one patient on the first postoperative day, showing both epithelial and corneal thickness maps, with significant increase in thickness.

Table 5 Correlations Between Each Corneal Zone and Others on All Measurements

		n	Correlation (r)	P
DM	CET/midET	25	0.969	<0.001
	CET/periphET		0.938	<0.001
	MidET/periphET		0.943	<0.001
Non-DM	CET/midET	25	0.680	<0.001
	CET/periphET		0.667	<0.001
	MidET/periphET		0.963	<0.001

Notes: r>0.7, very strong positive correlation; r=0.4–0.69, strong positive correlation.

Abbreviations: CET, central epithelial thickness; MidET, middle epithelial thickness; PeriphET, peripheral epithelial thickness.

Figure 2 Epithelial thickness changes in both groups throughout the study period. (A) Group A (diabetic patients); (B) group B (nondiabetic patients).

Figure 3 Central corneal thickness changes throughout the study period in both groups.