Corneal thickness differences between sexes after oxybuprocaine eye drops
Pablo Fernandez-Garcia1, Alejandro Cerviño, Laura Quiles-Guiñau
1*MSc †PhD ‡MD, PhD §OD, MSc Ocular Anatomy Unit, Department of Anatomy and Human Embryology, Faculty of Medicine (PF-G, LQ-G, JAS-G), and Optometry Research Group, Department of Optics (AC, CA-D, SG-L), University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain; and Pharmacology Unit, University Clinic Hospital, Valencia, Spain (PF-G).
Purpose:
We aimed to analyze the corneal thickness (CT) values of female and male subjects before and after instillation of oxybuprocaine 0.4% anesthetic eye drops.
Methods:
The CT of 30 female subjects and 28 male subjects was measured using scanning-slit corneal topography (Orbscan Topography System II, Orbscan, Inc, Salt Lake City, UT). Measurements were carried out before and 3 minutes after the instillation of oxybuprocaine 0.4% eye drops.
Results:
The difference between the baseline values and those obtained after anesthesia ranged as follows: male subjects: central, -26 to +24 μm; superior, -24 to +23 μm; inferior, -19 to +20 μm; nasal, -25 to +30 μm; and temporal, -21 to +20 μm; female subjects: central, -16 to +24 μm; superior, -19 to +32 μm; inferior, -14 to +34 μm; nasal, -19 to +33 μm; and temporal, -36 to +16 μm. No significant differences were found in any corneal location in male subjects. The differences were significant at inferior (p = 0.001) and nasal (p = 0.011) corneal sites in female subjects.
Conclusions:
Oxybuprocaine anesthetic eye drops induce significant CT increases in female subjects but not in male subjects.
