Refractive astigmatism and size of pterygium

The study evaluates the relationship between varying sizes of pterygium and refractive astigmatism. All patients with pterygium seen at the eye clinic of the University College Hospital within a six months period were included. The length, width and area of pterygium were measured. Refractive astigmatism in the subjects were measured. The findings showed that the length of pterygium on the cornea has a statistically significant relationship with the amount of refractive astigmatism. The amount of astigmatism increases with increase in the length of pterygia. A linear regression analysis showed that 38% of the total variability in astigmatism could be explained by the length of pterygium. The width and area of pterygium on cornea had no significant association with amount of refractive astigmatism. Size of pterygia could be an important predictor of the amount of astigmatism in an eye. However, a larger study need to be done to find other possible factors associating refractive astigmatism in eyes with pterygium.