[The contralateral eye in patients with unilateral iridocorneal endothelial syndrome]

To study the clinical characteristics of the contralateral eyes in patients with unilateral iridocorneal endothelial syndrome (ICE).

The clinical characteristics were analyzed retrospectively on the contralateral eyes in 42 cases of unilateral ICE. Among them, 19 patients (19 eyes) received examinations of refraction, intraocular pressure (IOP), slit lamp, gonioscopy and ultrasound biomicroscopy. In the 35 cases (35 eyes), the endothelial cell counts of the contralateral eyes were compared with age-matched normal controls using t-test.

In the 19 cases of unilateral ICE syndrome, emmetropia or hypermetropia were found in 88.9%, IOP higher than 21 mm Hg was present in one case, and anterior chamber depth lower than 2.2 mm was in 50.0%. Atrophy or dysplasia of iris existed in 3 cases, there were narrowness and/or adhesion of anterior chamber angle in 3 cases and pyramidal adhesion under gonioscopy and/or ultrasound biomicroscopy examination in 2 cases. One case represented relative paracentral scotoma in the visual field examination. Systematic disorders, including hepatitis B, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, duodenum ulceration, hypertension were found in 31.6%. In the 35 patients who received endothelial cell count, the average endothelial cell density of the contralateral eyes was (2 593.4 +/- 432.7)/mm(2), which was significantly lower than that of the normal controls (2 784.9 +/- 280.6)/mm(2) (t = -2.43, P = 0.019). The hexagonality and coefficient variation of cell size of ICE patients did not differ from that of the normal controls.

The contralateral eye in cases diagnosed as unilateral ICE syndrome may be subclinically involved, so it is necessary to pay attention to the contralateral eye, and follow up all the patients suffered from ICE syndrome.