Rebound Tonometry over Soft Contact Lenses

INTRODUCTION: Goldmann applanation tonometry (GAT) is named as a gold standard for intraocular pressure (IOP) measurement. AIM: To assess the accuracy of intraocular pressure (IOP) measurements using rebound tonometry over hydrogel and silicone hydrogel contact lenses (CLs) of different powers. METHODS: This study included 117 eyes of 61 patients (12 male, 49 female), all habitual wearers of hydrogel and silicone hydrogel CLs, and none previously diagnosed with glaucoma, ocular hypertension or anterior surface disease. Five IOP measurements were taken over each eye using a rebound tonometer (Icare): with soft CLs in situ and then repeated without CLs. Lens power ranged from -9.50 to +10.00 spherical diopters and to a maximum of -0.75 cylinder diopters. RESULTS: A significant positive correlation was found between IOP measurements with and without CLs. The difference between IOP measurements with (mean 20.74±5.19 mmHg) and without (mean 18.79±4.36 mmHg) CLs was found to be 1.95 mmHg (P <0.01). Statistical analysis was performed using the paired t-test and a correlation coefficient was calculated (r = 0.59; P <0.001). We have observed that increase in central corneal thickness (CCT) correlates positively with increase of measurement error of rebound tonometry (r = 0.43; P <0.001). CONCLUSION: We have shown good reliability of IOP measurements over CLs of different materials and thickness profiles while using rebound tonometer which makes it a feasible and accurate method for clinical purposes.