Purpose of review
To highlight various preventive and therapeutic strategies via health care delivery system to minimize sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy.
Recent findings
Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a common and specific microvascular complication of diabetes and is a common cause of blindness among economic age groups or the working population of the country. Clinically, DR can be graded as non-sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy (NSTDR), including mild and moderate non-proliferative abnormalities and sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy (STDR), which comprises of severe non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR), proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), or clinically significant macular edema (CSME). In STDR, the disease progresses to the proliferative phase which is characterized by the formation of new blood vessels and macular edema owing to the accumulation of fluid within the retina, producing severe and often irreversible vision loss. With the influx of artificial intelligence in the medical arena, there is a continuous rise in the demand for the development of automated analysis software for the analysis of retinal images in people with diabetes. Nowadays, Smartphone-based retinal imaging has emerged as one of the most cost-effective ways of screening for DR in the community, which even non-ophthalmologists can do.
Summary
Understanding the factors associated with STDR can help to develop primary and secondary prevention strategies. Spreading awareness regarding STDR at the community level is crucial. All diabetic patients need regular and repetitive follow-ups with the ophthalmologist for screening and timely treatment of DR, particularly STDR. Preservation of sight in STDR can be achieved through effective screening, timely laser treatment, intraocular injection of steroids and anti-vascular endothelial growth-factor agents and intraocular surgery.
