Background: To compare corneal hysteresis (CH) measurements between patients with glaucoma, ocular hypertension\n(OHT) and glaucoma-like optic discs (GLD)- defined as a cup to disc ratio greater than or equal to 0.6 with normal\nintraocular pressure (IOP) and visual fields. The secondary aim was to investigate whether corneal resistance factor (CRF)\nand central corneal thickness (CCT) differ between patient groups.\nMethods: In this cross sectional study a total of 123 patients (one eye each) were recruited from a glaucoma outpatient\ndepartment to undergo ocular response analyser (ORA) testing and ultrasound pachymetry as well as clinical\nexamination. A One-way Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted to evaluate the mean difference in CH\nbetween the three diagnostic groups (glaucoma, OHT and GLD) correcting for potential confounding factors, IOP\nand age. Analysis was repeated for CRF and CCT.\nResults: There was a significant difference in mean CH across the three diagnosis groups; F(2, 115) = 96.95;\np < 0.001. Mean CH significantly higher for GLD compared to glaucoma (mean difference 1.83, p < 0.001), and\nsignificantly higher for OHT compared to glaucoma (mean difference 2.35, p < 0.001). Mean CH was slightly\nlower in patients with GLD than those with OHT but this difference was not statistically significant. A similar\npattern was seen when the analysis was repeated for CRF and CCT.\nConclusions: Higher CH in GLD and OHT compared to glaucoma suggests increased viscoelasticity of ocular\ntissues may have a protective role against glaucoma.
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