To evaluate the accuracy of Pentacam® built-in 5 intraocular pressure (IOP) correction programs used to measure the IOP of patients who received corneal refractive surgery.

IOP of 124 eyes from 62 patients who underwent epipolis laser in situ keratomileusis was measured with Goldmann applanation tonometry (GAT) at 6 months pre- and post-operatively. The collected data was input into Pentacam®, calculated by 5 correction programs, Ehlers, Shah, Dresden, Orssengo / Pye, Kohlhaas, and compared.

The GAT-based pre- and post-operative IOP was 15.75 ± 2.24 mm Hg, and 10.72 ± 2.31 mm Hg, respectively, revealing the post-operative IOP to be significantly lower than the pre-operative IOP ( p < 0.001). Among the 5 correction programs within Pentacam®, Ehlers program showed little difference between pre- and post-operative IOP values ( p = 0.228) and the post-operative correction value showed no significant difference with the pre-operative GAT value ( p = 0.413).

The Ehlers program is the most accurate among the 5 Pentacam® correction programs evaluated in the present study, and can be a useful tool for correcting the true IOP of patients which tends to be higher after corneal refractive surgery.