Predictive factors for treatment in diabetic macular edema

Diabetic macular edema represents the primary cause of blindness in individuals under the age of 50 and in those with diabetes. Treatment success is influenced by numerous factors.Our objective was to identify factors affecting anatomical and functional responses to DME treatment.

This retrospective study included 95 eyes of 54 patients treated for diabetic macular edema in our Ophthalmology Department at the Regional Hospital of Kasserine, Tunisia, between January 2016 and January 2018.Statistical analysis was done in 3 steps: a univariate analysis, then a bivariate analysis and finally, we performed a multivariate analysis with a logistic regression. Analysis was performed using the statistical software "SPSS 20.0".

The multivariate analysis selected one principal factor: poor initial acuity as the only predictive factor of poor functional response to treatment with OR=35,763. The independent variables associated with a poor anatomical response to treatment were dyslipidemia (OR = 0.923), diabetic nephropathy (OR = 4.46), and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (OR = 0.063).

The treatment of diabetic macular edema is associated with high costs and a variable response from one patient to another, justifying better definition of the predictive factors for treatment. The results of other future studies will probably give answer for this question.