Comprehensive evaluation of corneas from normal, forme fruste keratoconus and clinical keratoconus patients using morphological and biomechanical properties

OBJECTIVE: To more comprehensively evaluate the ability of the parameters reflecting the morphological and biomechanical properties of the cornea to distinguish clinical keratoconus (CKC) and forme fruste keratoconus (FFKC) from normal. METHODS: Normal eyes (n = 50), CKC (n = 45) and FFKC (n = 15) were analyzed using Pentacam, Corvis ST and ORA. Stepwise logistic regression of all parameters was performed to obtain the optimal combination model capable of distinguishing CKC, FFKC from normal, named SLR1 and SLR2, respectively. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were applied to determine the predictive accuracy of the parameters and the two combination models, as described by the area under the curve (AUC). AUCs were compared using the DeLong method. RESULTS: The SLR1 model included only the TBI output by Pentacam, while the SLR2 model included the morphological parameter F.Ele.Th and two parameters from the Corvis ST, HC DfA and SP-A1. The majority of the parameters had sufficient strength to differentiate the CKC from normal corneas, even the seven separate parameters and the SLR1 model had a discrimination efficiency of 100%. The predictive accuracy of the parameters was moderate for FFKC, and the SLR2 model (0.965) presented an excellent AUC, followed by TBI, F.Ele.Th and BAD-D. CONCLUSION: The F.Ele.Th from Pentacam was the most sensitive morphological parameter for FFKC, and the combination of F.Ele.Th, HC DfA and SP-A1 made the diagnosis of FFKC more efficient. The CRF and CH output by ORA did not improve the combined diagnosis, despite the corneal combination of morphological and biomechanical properties that optimized the diagnosis of FFKC.