Hindrances in management of diabetic retinopathy

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Original Article

Author Details : Shrikant Deshpande, Prachi Shah, Yash Gala

Volume : 2, Issue : 3, Year : 2016

Article Page : 199-202

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Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study is to analyse the treatment modalities for diabetic retinopathy and their efficacy in a rural setting.
Materials and Methods: Patient selection: 50 patients who presented with diabetic retinopathy and who were treated for the same in the last 2 years were taken into consideration. All the patients were thoroughly evaluated which included careful history taking, vision assessment at the time presentation and after receiving treatment on 7th day, 1 month and 3 months, anterior segment examination, intro-ocular pressure measurement, posterior segment examination using indirect ophthalmoscopy and OCT analysis for quantitative assessment of macular edema.
Results: We found that patients having diabetes for around 10 years had milder retinopathy changes while the patients having diabetes for more than 15 years had more severe retinopathy changes. There was significant reduction in visual acuity of patients with retinopathy changes compared to their age normal values. Improvement in vision was significantly more in patients treated with intravitreal bevacizumab.
Conclusion: Diabetic retinopathy is a chronic progressive disorder. It takes several years to develop and further more years to manage. Due to the lack of awareness regarding the severity of this condition in a rural setting like ours the patients present at a very late stage. Early detection and early treatment is the crux of managing DR. It is therefore essential to educate the masses and motivate them for regular check-ups with an ophthalmologist once they are diagnosed with diabetes mellitus. It is important to counsel the patients that diabetic retinopathy cannot be cured in days or weeks. It takes months to years to control this condition. Besides the mainstay of the treatment is to prevent further damage. Patients are unaware about this and they expect a speedy visual recovery. This leads to dissatisfaction and hence patients fail to follow-up. Despite the fact that diabetic retinopathy is a curable condition we still face a lot of difficulties in managing it in a rural setting in developing countries.

Keywords: Diabetic retinopathy, Visual acuity, Macular edema, Bevacizumab, Rural setting

How to cite : Deshpande S, Shah P, Gala Y, Hindrances in management of diabetic retinopathy. IP Int J Ocul Oncol Oculoplasty 2016;2(3):199-202

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