The correlation between optical coherence tomographic features and severity of retinopathy, macular thickness and visual acuity in diabetic macular edema.

PURPOSE: To investigate the correlation between the features of optical coherence tomography (OCT) and the severity of concurrent retinopathy, central macular thickness (CMT), and best-corrected visual acuity in clinically significant diabetic macular edema.

METHODS: In a prospective study, OCT was performed in 55 eyes of 55 patients with clinically significant diabetic macular edema, in 58 eyes of 30 patients with diabetes without retinopathy, and in 40 eyes of 21 healthy control subjects. The OCT features were categorized into: type 1, sponge-like retinal swelling; type 2, cystoid macular edema; type 3, serous retinal detachment; and type 4, vitreofoveal traction.

RESULTS: The CMT in eyes with diabetic macular edema was significantly higher than in eyes of healthy controls or in eyes of diabetic patients without retinopathy (P < 0.001). Visual acuity correlated with CMT in diabetic macular edema (r = 0.558, P < 0.001). The prevalence of OCT type 1 was significantly higher in eyes with mild-to-moderate non-proliferative retinopathy (NPDR) than in eyes with severe NPDR to proliferative retinopathy (PDR) (P = 0.0069). The prevalence of OCT types 3 and 4 was significantly higher in eyes with severe NPDR to PDR than in eyes with mild-to-moderate NPDR (P = 0.0056). OCT type 1 showed the least CMT (P < 0.001) and the best visual acuity (P = 0.002).

CONCLUSIONS: There was a significant correlation between OCT patterns of clinically significant diabetic macular edema and severity of retinopathy, CMT, and visual acuity.