Association between Diabetic Foot Ulcer and Diabetic Retinopathy

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder with disturbance in carbohydrate, protein and fat metabolism because of partial or complete deficiency of insulin secretion or action. As it can cause various complications and Diabetic retinopathy being the most common and perhaps the most serious of all ocular complications. Diabetic foot ulcer is one of the most serious and disabling complications of diabetes mellitus which result in significantly elevated morbidity and mortality. Aim of the study was to assess the severity of diabetic retinopathy in relation to various grades of diabetic foot ulcer among 100 patients with clinically diagnosed type 2 Diabetes Mellitus with diabetic foot ulcer patients. 25% of the study participants were found to have Moderate NPDR with 15% of the study participants having severe NPDR. 11.1% of study participants with grade 4 DFU had PDR with HRC and 33.3% of study participants with grade 4 DFU had Severe NPDR. 47.1% and 35.3% of study participants with grade 3 DFU had Severe NPDR and moderate NPDR respectively. The association was found to be statistically significant between the severity of diabetic retinopathy and the grades of diabetic foot ulcer of the study participants. The study concluded that the severity of diabetic retinopathy increases with the increase in the stages of DFU and there is a possibility that the presence of DFU can predict the progression to advanced stages of DR. The results of our study support the need for a system of ophthalmological referral in case of detection of DFU, as well as a prompt referral of DR patients to a DFU specialist. Also, in advanced age DFU patients, and particularly those with longer duration of diabetes, early detection of DR and timely treatment may decrease the risk of severe vision loss or blindness. Keywords: diabetic foot ulcer, diabetic retinopathy, risk factors, severity, India