Overexpression of Tear Inflammatory Cytokines as Additional Finding in Keratoconus Patients and Their First Degree Family Members

Table 4

Correlations between the concentrations of inflammatory mediators and paraclinical parameters in keratoconus patients.

	Pearson/Spearman correlation coefficient
	value
	Number of observations
Cytokine	IFN gamma	IL-10	IL-1 beta	IL-4	IL-6	RANTES	TNF alpha
Disease stage	0.41420; 0.0983; 17	0.2867; 0.2644; 17	0.48542; 0.0566; 16	0.4971; 0.0594; 15	0.5621; 0.0188; 17	0.49538; 0.0432; 17	0.15387; 0.5554; 17
Kmax	0.25383; 0.3256; 17	0.17647; 0.4981; 17	0.3529; 0.1800; 16	0.3178; 0.2483; 15	0.55637; 0.0204; 17	0.37255; 0.1408; 17	0.16912; 0.5164; 17
CCT	−0.54897; 0.0225; 17	−0.4543; 0.0669; 17	−0.62387; 0.0098; 16	−0.6076; 0.0163; 15	−0.6489; 0.0048; 17	−0.65120; 0.0046; 17	−0.37691; 0.1359; 17
CH	−0.86258; <0.0001; 17	−0.8767; <0.0001; 17	−0.81825; 0.0001; 16	−0.8328; 0.0001; 15	−0.5395; 0.0254; 17	−0.50766; 0.0375; 17	−0.86205; <0.0001; 17
CRF	−0.82852; <0.0001; 17	−0.8739; <0.0001; 17	−0.79039; 0.0003; 16	−0.8089; 0.0003; 15	−0.3630; 0.1521; 17	−0.41664; 0.0962; 17	−0.84797; <0.0001; 17

In the case of 1 subject, IL-1 beta was not detectable in the tear film, the same as in the case of 2 subjects for IL-4, hence the missing observations. Kmax: maximal keratometry reading measured by the corneal topography; CCT: central corneal thickness measured by ultrasonic pachymeter or by OCT; CH: corneal hysteresis; CRF: corneal resistance factor measured with the Ocular Response Analyzer.