Abstract
Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is among the leading causes of blindness at the global level. A review of studies between 2015 and 2018 found that about 1.7% of the general population with any type of diabetes mellitus suffered from proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). Since the 1960s, panretinal photocoagulation (PRP) has been the mainstay of treatment for PDR. During this period, PRP has been credited with a significant degree of success and a relatively low complication rate. However, the advent of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapy with the beginning of the new millennium provided a treatment modality that was noninferior to PRP. A decade-long period of comparisons and debates between these two treatment modalities repeatedly favored anti-VEGF over PRP, as studies demonstrated that the former provided potentially superior outcomes to PRP. The aim of this review is to briefly discuss and compare the relevant studies and evidence supporting these two treatments.
Highlights
BackgroundDiabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic metabolic disease that leads to serious damage to various organs, including the eyes [1]
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about 422 million people worldwide were living with DM in 2014, compared with 171 million in 2000 [2], in low- and middle-income countries and 1.6 million deaths are directly attributed to DM each year [3-5]
From 2.6% to 4.8% of global cases of blindness can be attributed to Diabetic retinopathy (DR) [5, 7-8], and it is estimated that more than 75% of patients who have DM for more than 20 years will have some form of retinopathy [5]
Summary
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic metabolic disease that leads to serious damage to various organs, including the eyes [1] Both the number of cases and the prevalence of DM have steadily increased over the past few decades. The statistics show that in patients who have had insulin-dependent DM for at least 20 years, proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) is likely to be a pre-existing condition for 60% of the patients [5]. A recent systematic review provided an updated estimate of the prevalence of DR and VTDR of 22.27% and 6.17%, respectively [9] These numbers were attributed to a combination of factors including growing public interest and awareness regarding DM in Asia, leading to a higher number of screenings and earlier diagnosis of DM in high-risk populations in many Asian countries
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