Sirius Scheimpflug–Placido versus ultrasound pachymetry for central corneal thickness: meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: To compare the difference in central corneal thickness (CCT) measurements in normal eyes between a rotating Scheimpflug camera combined with a Placido-disk corneal topographer (Sirius, CSO, Italy) and ultrasound pachymetry (USP). METHODS: A systematic literature search was conducted for relevant studies published on PubMed, Medline, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library and ClinicalTrials.gov from inception to August 1st, 2019. Primary outcome measures were CCT measurements between Sirius and USP. A random effects model was used to pool CCT measurements. RESULTS: A total of twelve studies involving 862 eyes were included in this meta-analysis. The meta-analysis found CCT measurements between Sirius and USP to be statistically significantly different (P < 0.0001). The mean difference between Sirius and USP was −11.26 μm with a 95% confidence interval (CI) (−16.92 μm, −5.60 μm). The heterogeneity was I(2) = 60% (P = 0.004). CONCLUSION: CCT measurements with the Sirius Scheimpflug-Placido topographer were statistically significantly lower than USP. However, it may be argued that the mean difference of 11.26 μm is not a clinically significant difference.