Elevated intraocular pressure in patients with acromegaly.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To evaluate central corneal thickness (CCT) and intraocular pressure (IOP) in a cohort of acromegalic patients, and to correlate CCT with serum levels of growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). METHODS: Consecutive patients affected by acromegaly underwent a comprehensive endocrinological and ophthalmological evaluation, including serum GH and IGF-1 levels, CCT measured with ultrasonic pachymetry and IOP assessed with Goldmann applanation tonometry. RESULTS: Fourteen patients with acromegaly and 28 healthy controls were included in the study. Acromegalic patients had a statistically higher median CCT (570 µm [range 551.5-638] vs 542.7 µm [range 461.5-610]; p < 0.01) and higher median IOP (17.2 mm Hg [range 14-21] vs 13.7 mm Hg [range 10.5-19]; p < 0.01) than healthy controls. No statistically significant correlation was found among CCT and GH, CCT and IGF-1, IOP and GH, IOP and IGF-1 in the acromegalic group, whereas a statistically significant correlation was documented between CCT and IOP in the entire cohort (Spearman's correlation coefficient 0.56, p < 0.01). However, when IOP was corrected for CCT no significant difference was found between the two study groups (p = 0.07). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that acromegaly is associated with an increased CCT, which could lead to an overestimation of IOP readings as determined with Goldmann applanation tonometry.