Fundus autofluorescence in diabetic macular edema as a tool for establishing diagnosis, prognosis and treatment.

Abstract

Purpose : Describe the characteristics of the different patterns of fundus autofluorescence found in patients with diabetic macular edema and correlate these findings with functionality for establishing a definitive diagnosis, prognosis and treatment.

Methods : In this pilot study we’ve included patients diagnosed with diabetic macular edema as seen in fundus evaluation by our retina specialists. Retina imaging was performed including fundus photography, fluorescein angiography, SD-OCT and fundus autofluorescence with the Heidelberg Spectralis OCT (Heidelberg Engineering, Germany). Data were collected for image analysis and comparison was performed paying special attention to the characteristics of each different pattern and functionality, therefore establishing a definitive diagnosis, prognosis and treatment for each patient.

Results : So far the autofluorescence patterns found in the macular area are those with a normal (16.92%), single-spot (1.99%), multiple-spot (53.94%), cystic (21.98%), diffuse (1.29%) or irregular (3.88%) pattern in the foveal avascular zone predominantly and these findings are correlated with the severity of each patient according to OCT and clinical examination.

Conclusions : In fundus autofluorescence we found that patterns described in patients with diabetic macular edema are consistently found and correlated with functionality and severity according to the patterns found in SD-OCT. We found that this study is capable of diagnose patients that course with diabetic macular edema without knowing it while applying the data acquired for establishing a prognosis before deciding a treatment, thus offering an early treatment option according to the severity of each patient.

This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2016 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, Wash., May 1-5, 2016.