Authors : S Kalpana, Sweekruthi G K , Anuradha A , Sharada M
DOI : 10.18231/j.ijceo.2022.025
Volume : 8
Issue : 1
Year : 2022
Page No : 137-141
Background: Diabetes mellitus is a leading cause of blindness worldwide. The disease affects the generalized micro and macro vasculature of various structures. Retina, kidney and peripheral nerves are the major sites of micro vasculature involvement. Our study aims to find the correlation between diabetic retinopathy (DR) and diabetic nephropathy.
Materials and Methods: This non-randomized, prospective study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital in South India between November 2014 and May 2016. Study included 100 patients with diabetic nephropathy referred for fundoscopy from the nephrourology department, excluding those with hazy media enough to interfere with a detailed fundus examination and management. All subjects underwent complete ocular examination and systemic evaluation after obtaining informed consent. Visual acuity, fundoscopy by direct and indirect ophthalmoscope, fundus photography and optical coherence tomography were done as and when required. Blood investigations like fasting blood sugar, post prandial blood sugar, glycosylated haemoglobin, haemoglobin levels, serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen, lipid profile, urine routine and 24-Hour urine albumin were recorded. DR was classified according to ETDRS classification and different grades were compared with grades of nephropathy and association was analysed statistically.
Results: There was significant association between fundal changes and albumin excretion in urine. Among subjects with massive albuminuria, 64.7% of them had proliferative DR (PDR). Among subjects with moderate albuminuria, majority had Moderate NPDR and subjects with microalbuminuria majority had normal fundus. There was a positive correlation between DR and total cholesterol.
Conclusion: The severity of DR correlates with severity of diabetic nephropathy.
Keywords: Albuminuria, Diabetic Retinopathy, Fundoscopy, Nephropathy