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[Retinal sensitivity following subthreshold diode laser micropulse photocoagulation for diabetic macular edema]
Yuko Hoshikawa1, Kishiko Ohkoshi, Tatsuo Yamaguchi
1Department of Ophthalmology, St. Luke's International Hospital, Tokyo, Japan. hoshiyu@luke.or.jp
Purpose:
To report the retinal sensitivity after subthreshold diode laser micropulse photocoagulation(SDM) to evaluate its safety.
Methods:
Eight eyes of 8 diabetic patients with clinically significant macular edema were treated with SDM. SDM was applied with a 15% duty cycle, 0.2 to 0.3 sec, 200 microm, at 700 to 800 mW. Postoperative retinal sensitivity (1-2 weeks) was compared to preoperative retinal sensitivity measured by microperimeter-1 (MP-1, Nidek technologies, Padova, Italy) using a 1 x 1 mm square test grid with 49 stimulus locations.
Results:
The retinal sensitivity improved (more than 2 dB) in 3 eyes and remained stable (within 2 dB) in 5 eyes. The median retinal sensitivity increased significantly in 5 eyes and decreased significantly in 3 eyes. The average retinal sensitivity of 8 eyes was 12.04 +/- 3.69 dB before laser treatment, and 13.20 3.47 dB after laser treatment and there was no statistically significant change in retinal sensitivity at 2 weeks (p = 0.09).
Conclusion:
Short duration SDM for diabetic macular edema has no significant effect on retinal sensitivity.
