Central corneal thickness and intraocular tension in patients with acromegaly.

In 27 patients with pituitary adenomas the central corneal thickness and the intraocular tension were measured. Thirteen of the patients were suffering from acromegaly, and in this group the central corneal thickness was 0.561 mm +/- 0.35 (mean +/- SD). In the 14 patients with pituitary adenomas but no acromegaly the central corneal thickness was 0.526 mm +/- 0.030 (mean +/- SD). This difference is statistically significant 0.01 greater than P greater than 0.001. In the 13 patients with acromegaly the intraocular tension measured by applanation was 16.9 mmHg +/- 2.3 (mean +/- SD) and in the control group 14.7 mmHg +/- 2.4 (mean +/- SD). This difference is statistically significant (0.05 greater than P greater than 0.02). When the applanation reading is corrected for the difference in the central corneal thickness, the patients suffering from acromegaly have an intraocular tension of 14.1 mmHg, which is of the same magnitude as the tension in the patients without acromegaly.