To evaluate the central corneal thickness (CCT) and corneal endothelial cell density (ENDO) in pseudoexfoliation syndrome.

Medical records of patients who underwent a preoperative examination for cataract surgery and an examination for glaucoma were retrospectively reviewed. The present study included 44 patients (59 eyes) and age- and sex-matched controls. The total pseudoexfoliation patients divided into 2 groups, such as pseudoexfoliation syndrome (28 eyes) and pseudoexfoliative glaucoma (21 eyes) .The intraocular pressure (IOP), CCT, ENDO, corneal curvature (CC) and axial length (AL) were measured.

The total pseudoexfoliation group showed significantly higher IOP ( p = 0.001), thinner CCT ( p = 0.003) and lower ENDO ( p = 0.037). The pseudoexfoliation syndrome group showed significantly thinner CCT ( p = 0.010) and lower EDNO ( p = 0.041), but no significant difference in IOP ( p = 0.941). There was no significant difference in CCT ( p = 0.060) and ENDO ( p = 0.171) between the pseudoexfoliative glaucoma group and controls, but the pseudoexfolliative glaucoma group showed significantly higher IOP ( p < 0.001).

The pseudoexfoliation group showed thinner CCT which should be taken into consideration when evaluating IOP with the applanation tonometer and diagnosing glaucoma, especially in pseudoexfoliation syndrome patients.