Analysis of central corneal thickness in black Cameroonian children

André Omgbwa Eballe¹, Emilienne Epée², Godefroy Koki², Assumpta Lucienne Bella^2
1Faculty of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Douala; ²Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé, Cameroon

Purpose: Our objective was to determine mean pediatric central corneal thickness (CCT) in black Cameroonian children, according to gender and age, using ultrasonic pachymetry.
Materials and methods: A prospective, observational, consecutive case series in 102 children (204 eyes) aged 5–16 years was carried out from November 2009 to January 2010 at the Eye Unit of the Gynaeco-Obstetric and Paediatric Hospital in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Descriptive and analytic statistics were performed for CCT measured by a hand-held ultrasonic pachymeter (Quantel Medical Inc, Clermont-Ferrand France, Model Pocket, Class II) according to demographic data.
Results: The average CCT for both eyes in these children was 538.06 ± 38.03 µm. Average CCT was 541.41 ± 36.45 µm in boys and 536.15 ± 38.91 µm in girls, with no statistically significant difference between the two groups. There was also no statistically significant difference in CCT between the age groups, comprising Group 1 (5–7 years), Group 2 (8–10 years), Group 3 (11–13 years), and Group 4 (14–16 years).
Conclusion: CCT has been suggested to be lower in black children than in Caucasian, Hispanic, and Japanese children. Nevertheless, our average CCT values were within the standard range, varying between 527 and 560 µm.

Keywords: central corneal thickness, child, Cameroon