Imaging plays important part in diagnosis, documentation of DME
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
WAIKOLOA, Hawaii — At Retina 2022, Sophie J. Bakri, MD, provided some pearls on the clinical relevance of imaging for diabetic macular edema.
In addition to diagnosing DME, Bakri said imaging helps document disease progression and exclude other diseases or disease manifestations.
“With edema, we need to measure it serially to assess response to treatment, and we may wish to measure nonperfusion in the macula and elsewhere,” she said. “Really, the big thing is where it will change patient management.”
There are several options when it comes to imaging in DME, but a number of factors help determine which modality to use. In many cases, the choice might be determined by patient situation, such as their ability to position in one machine vs. another, frequency of visits or the planned treatment.
Bakri said OCT has become a key part of DME imaging because it is fast, and the training process for staff is easy. Other options such as fluorescein angiography may change the clinician’s decision process when it comes to the choice between observation and early intervention.
“With fluorescein angiography, we have a completely different picture,” Bakri said. “If we had decided to observe the patient who has no DME, we’re not thinking about anti-VEGF therapy for early [proliferative diabetic retinopathy].”
Bakri said getting the right treatment comes down to making the right diagnosis.
“Please remember that not all macular edema in diabetics is DME,” she said. “We need to rethink carefully and exclude other diseases.”
Collapse
Bakri SJ. Imaging in diabetic macular edema: Is it always clinically relevant? Presented at: Retina 2022; Jan. 15-21, 2022; Waikoloa, Hawaii.
Read more about
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts