Effects of Fluorescein Staining on Laser In Vivo Confocal Microscopy Images of the Cornea

Table 1

Percentage of respondents who were correct or incorrect in identifying the presence or absence of fluorescein in confocal microscopy images of the cornea. Results are mean ± standard deviation for results from 21 to 25 respondents per image (up to 4 respondents abstained from responding to various images).

Sample	Percentage of respondents correct per image, %	Percentage of respondents incorrect per image, %
Epithelium images
No fluorescein, 𝑛=19 images	44±17	56±17
With fluorescein, 𝑛=15 images	53±12	47±12
Overall, epithelium, 𝑛=34 images	48 ± 14	52 ± 15
Subbasal nerve plexus images
No fluorescein, 𝑛=10 images	48±14	52±14
With fluorescein, 𝑛=19 images	50±10	50±10
Overall, nerves, 𝑛=29 images	49 ± 11	51 ± 11
Stroma images
No fluorescein, 𝑛=15 images	60±18	40±18
With fluorescein, 𝑛=21 images	36±20	64±20
Overall, stroma, 𝑛=36 images	46 ± 23	54 ± 23
All 3 corneal layers, 𝑛=99 images	48±17	52±17