Research Article
Rotating Scheimpflug Imaging Indices in Different
Grades of Keratoconus
Sherine S. Wahba,
1,2
Maged M. Roshdy,
1,2
Rania S. Elkitkat,
1,2
and Karim M. Naguib
1,2
1
Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo 11566, Egypt
2
Al Watany Eye Hospitals, 211 Alhegaz Street, Alhegaz Square, Heliopolis, Cairo 11361, Egypt
Correspondence should be addressed to Rania S. Elkitkat; raniaselkitkat@med.asu.edu.eg
Received 9 March 2016; Revised 26 June 2016; Accepted 10 July 2016
Academic Editor: Sang Beom Han
Copyright © 2016 Sherine S. Wahba et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly
cited.
Purpose. To evaluate accuracy of various Keratoconus (KC) screening indices, in relation to Topographic Keratoconus (TKC)
grading. Setting. Al Watany Eye Hospital, Cairo, Egypt. Methods. Data of 103 normal (group 1) and 73 KC eyes (group 2), imaged
by Pentacam (branded as Allegro Oculyzer), were analysed. Group 2 was divided into 2a: 14 eyes (TKC = 1, early KC), 2b: 25 eyes
(TKC = 1 to 2 or 2, moderate KC), and 2c: 34 eyes (TKC = 2 to 3 up to 4, severe KC). Participants were followed up for six years
to confrm diagnosis. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) was calculated for evaluated curvature,
elevation, and pachymetry indices with various reference shapes at diferent diameters. Results. When comparing normal to KC
eyes, ten indices had signifcantly higher AUROC. Only fve of them had signifcantly higher AUROC in early KC compared to
normal corneas: Pachymetry Progression Index- (PPI-) Maximum (Max), Ambr´ osio’s Relational Tickness- (ART-) Max, PPI-Max
minus PPI-Minimum (Min), central corneal thickness (CCT), and diagonal decentration of thinnest point from the apex (AUROC
= 0.690, 0.690, 0.687, 0.683, and 0.674, resp.). Conclusion. Generally, ten pachymetry and elevation-based indices had signifcantly
higher AUROC. Five indices had statistically signifcant high AUROC when comparing early KC to normal corneas.
1. Introduction
Te hallmark characteristic of Keratoconus (KC) is the devel-
opment of localized, cone-shaped ectasia accompanied by
corneal thinning in the area of the cone. Tis leads to irregular
astigmatism and steeper corneal curvature over the area of
the cone [1]. Te early detection of these changes is usually
based on Placido-based corneal topography and rotating
Scheimpfug camera corneal tomography. However, there
are confounding conditions that can imply topographic and
tomographic corneal changes resembling KC, such as corneal
scarring, hyperopic refractive surgery, contact lens-induced
warpage [2], and even normal variants of topographic curva-
ture patterns.
Tere are several tomographic criteria for KC diagnosis.
Tey can be divided into three main subgroups: curvature-
based, elevation-based, and pachymetry-based. Unfortu-
nately, none of them is 100% sensitive and specifc. Some
authors believe that elevation maps are better than axial
curvature maps for KC screening [3]. Others claim that
curvature is still the most sensitive [4].
Te rotating Scheimpfug camera “Pentacam” (Oculus
GmbH, Wetzlar, Germany) can generate various indices
within each of the three indices subgroups.
Pentacam allows for measuring local elevation points by
ftting the corneal shape to a best-ft sphere (BFS) reference
surface with variable diameters or to a best-ft toric ellipsoid
surface (BFTE), which simulates more the corneal shape than
the BFS [5]. Te guidelines difer between authorities. For
instance, some prefer using BFS based on the analysis of 8 mm
zone around the corneal apex, especially for refractive surgery
screening [6, 7], others keep the device default at 9 mm zone,
although there are some concerns about it; that is, it is more
difcult to get reliable scans without wide palpebral fssure.
On the contrary, BFTE has been recommended for use by
other studies, as they concluded that toric ellipsoid reference
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Journal of Ophthalmology
Volume 2016, Article ID 6392472, 9 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/6392472