Corneal endothelium in unilateral Fuchs heterochromic iridocyclitis

Purpose: To assess the corneal endothelium in patients with Fuchs heterochromic iridocyclitis (FHI) and compare it with the normal fellow eye. Methods: Retrospective, observational, cross-sectional study of 31 patients seen between Jan 2016 to Dec 2018, with clinical diagnosis of Fuchs heterochromic iridocyclitis, was performed. Specular microscopic examination was documented in both eyes. The affected eyes formed the study group and the fellow healthy eyes served as controls. Results: The mean age of the patients was 29.9 ± 8.2 years. The endothelial cell density (P = 0.0001) was significantly lower, whereas average cell size (P = 0.0001), coefficient of variation (P = 0.004), and maximum cell area (P = 0.01) were significantly higher in the affected eye compared to the control eye. In three patients, the affected eye showed guttae, while the healthy fellow eye revealed a normal specular mosaic. Conclusion: Specular microscopic analysis shows endothelial alterations in the affected eyes in FHI.