The effect of cycloplegia on the ocular biometry and intraocular lens power based on age

BACKGROUND: To investigate the effect of cycloplegia on the ocular biometry and intraocular lens (IOL) power in different age groups. METHODS: This cross-sectional study enrolled 240 right eyes of 240 healthy volunteers. Three groups were formed (range to years; group 1: 50–60, group 2: 30–40 and group 3: 10–20, respectively). We measured keratometry, central corneal thickness (CCT), white-to-white (WtW) distance, anterior chamber depth (ACD), and axial lentgh (AL) both before and after cycloplegia. The IOL powers were calculated using Sanders–Retzlaff–Kraff/theoretical (SRK/T), Holladay 1 and Haigis formulas. AL-Scan (Nidek Co., Gamagori, Japan) was used for all measurements. RESULTS: There was a significant increased in keratometry, CCT, ACD, AL, and Holladay 1 after cycloplegia (p 0.05). Keratometry, SRK/T, Haigis, and Holladay 1 significantly decreased; ACD and WtW significantly increased postcycloplegia (p 0.05). Significant increased in ACD, CCT, WtW, and AL, significant decreased in SRK/T and Haigis were observed postcycloplegia (p 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated there is significant difference in many ocular parameters and IOL power formulas before and after cycloplegia. Especially, ACD showed significant changes in all age groups. Therefore, to avoid refractive prediction errors the IOL power calculation formulas using the ACD should be considered.