Quantitative evaluation of corneal irregularity and scarring after infectious keratitis using anterior segment optical coherence tomography.

PURPOSE: Corneal scars after infectious keratitis lead to insufficient transparency and irregular astigmatism, affecting visual acuity; therefore, they should be accurately evaluated to estimate visual function. This study aimed to quantitatively evaluate corneal irregularity and scarring after infectious keratitis using anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT). METHODS: This was an observational clinical study. We included patients who had corneal scarring after treatment of infectious keratitis between 2014 and 2021 at University of Tokyo Hospital. We retrospectively examined best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA), average keratometric power, central corneal thickness (CCT), and four components of the Fourier harmonic analysis including spherical and asymmetry components, as well as regular astigmatism and higher-order irregularity. We included anterior and posterior corneal data and compared results with those of contralateral healthy eyes. Additionally, we quantitatively evaluated the densitometry of the cornea obtained using AS-OCT. RESULTS: A total of 122 eyes of 61 patients were examined; male predominance was observed (n = 37), and the mean patient age was 55.3 ± 19.4 years. Comparisons with contralateral healthy eyes showed that BSCVA worsened (0.30 ± 0.83 and 0.93 ± 1.36 logMAR, respectively, P = 0.003), and CCT (531.1 ± 46.2 and 591.8 ± 132.4 µm, respectively, P < 0.001) and corneal densitometry (84.4 ± 11.8 and 111.9 ± 19.2 grayscale units, respectively, P < 0.001) increased significantly in affected eyes. The asymmetry component and higher-order irregularities that were not corrected with spectacles significantly increased (both P < 0.001), and there were no significant differences in the changes among the bacterial, fungal, herpetic, and acanthamoeba types of keratitis. CONCLUSION: Corneal scarring persisted after treatment for infectious keratitis, and the asymmetry and irregularities of corneal astigmatism increased as visual acuity deteriorated. AS-OCT with the Fourier harmonic analysis was useful for evaluating corneal topographic changes in patients with corneal scarring after keratitis.

A new computed tomography method to identify meningitis-related cochlear ossification and fibrosis before cochlear implantation.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a new method to determine the presence of intracochlear ossification and/or fibrosis in cochlear implantation candidates with bilateral profound deafness following meningitis. STUDY DESIGN: Diagnostic test assessment. SETTING: A university hospital. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This study involved 15 ears from 13 patients with profound deafness following meningitis who underwent cochlear implantation. These ears showed normal structures, soft tissue, partial bony occlusion, and complete bony occlusion in 4, 3, 2, and 6 ears, respectively. We measured radiodensity in Hounsfield units (HU) using 0.5-mm-thick axial high-resolution computed tomography image slices at 3 different levels in the basal turn, the fenestration, and inferior and ascending segment sites, located along the electrode-insertion path. Pixel-level analysis on the DICOM viewer yielded actual computed tomography values of intracochlear soft tissues by eliminating the partial volume effect. The values were compared with the intraoperative findings. RESULTS: Values for ossification (n = 12) ranged from +547 HU to +1137 HU; for fibrosis (n = 11), from +154 HU to +574 HU; and for fluid (n = 22), from -49 HU to +255 HU. From these values, we developed 2 presets of window width (WW) and window level (WL): (1) WW: 1800, WL: 1100 (200 HU to 2000 HU) and (2) WW: 1500, WL: 1250 (500 HU to 2000 HU). The results using these 2 presets corresponded well to the intraoperative findings. CONCLUSION: Our new method is easy and feasible for preoperative determination of the presence of cochlear ossification and/or fibrosis that develops following meningitis.