Table 4.
Comparison of corneal nerve fibers.
| Central cornea | Peripheral cornea | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preoperative | Postoperative | Variation | Preoperative | Postoperative | Variation | ||
| CNFD (n/mm2) | |||||||
| BSS | 15 | 18.51 ± 2.15 | 14.16 ± 2.22 | −3.35 ± 2.67 | 13.07 ± 3.29 | 10.73 ± 2.77 | −2.35 ± 4.26 |
| HPMC | 17 | 17.36 ± 3.42 | 17.06 ± 2.41 | −0.30 ± 3.66 | 13.51 ± 2.42 | 13.71 ± 3.46 | 0.19 ± 3.23 |
| BCL | 14 | 19.07 ± 3.61 | 15.81 ± 3.09 | −3.26 ± 2.09 | 13.54 ± 3.96 | 11.32 ± 5.62 | −2.22 ± 2.68 |
| H&B | 14 | 17.50 ± 2.94 | 16.81 ± 3.75 | −0.69 ± 3.21 | 12.87 ± 4.23 | 11.47 ± 0.96 | −1.40 ± 4.28 |
| H/F | 1.063 | 1.468 | 4.522 | 0.133 | 2.246 | 1.705 | |
| P value | 0.372 | 0.233 | 0.007∗ | 0.940 | 0.336 | 0.176 | |
| CTBD (n/mm2) | |||||||
| BSS | 16 | 47.74 ± 9.42 | 42.87 ± 11.49 | −4.77 ± 17.65 | 20.40 ± 18.72 | 14.49 ± 13.11 | −5.91 ± 12.99 |
| HPMC | 19 | 49.19 ± 12.07 | 47.74 ± 16.10 | −1.45 ± 14.22 | 18.72 ± 9.77 | 25.32 ± 5.86 | 8.68 ± 13.40 |
| BCL | 14 | 51.62 ± 18.50 | 31.16 ± 17.54 | −20.46 ± 27.13 | 25.11 ± 18.03 | 15.34 ± 6.05 | −9.77 ± 15.48 |
| H&B | 14 | 53.94 ± 5.37 | 53.94 ± 41.63 | 0.01 ± 43.64 | 21.39 ± 17.21 | 31.62 ± 28.53 | 10.23 ± 15.26 |
| F/H | 0.730 | 2.303 | 1.724 | 0.410 | 4.00 | 7.547 | |
| P value | 0.203 | 0.089 | 0.218 | 0.746 | 0.025∗ | <0.001∗∗ | |
BSS, balanced salt solution; HPMC, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose; BCL, bandage contact lens; H&B, combined hydroxypropyl methylcellulose and bandage contact lens; CNFD, corneal nerve fiber density; CTBD, corneal nerve total branch density. ∗P < 0.05; ∗∗P < 0.001.