[OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY CHARACTERISTICS OF DIABETIC MACULAR OEDEMA]

The aim of this study was to measure macular thickness of diabetes mellitus type 2 patients with nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy and clinically significant macular edema based on optical coherence tomography (OCT) findings and to show morphological characteristics of diabetic macular edema. A prospective study was carried out at the Department of Ophthalmology, Split University Hospital Center. It included 40 patients aged 40-83, all with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Macular area was assessed by OCT, with measurement of central subfield thickness, cube volume and cube average thickness. The mean central subfield thickness was 509.1 μm, mean cube volume 13.1 mm(3) and mean cube thickness 365.1 μm. Diabetic macular edema is classified as diffuse, focal, cystoid, and associated with serous macular detachment and macular traction. Diffuse diabetic macular edema was most common, present in 22 (55%) patients, followed by focal macular edema in 8 (20%), cystoid in 4 (10%), associated with macular traction in 4 (10%) and morphological serous macular detachment as the least common in 2 (5%) patients. OCT is the gold standard for the diagnosis of diabetic macular edema. It is an important diagnostic method for high resolution imaging of anatomical structures of the macula and vitreoretinal surface.