Macular thickness and systemic markers for diabetes in individuals with no or mild diabetic retinopathy.

Background: The relationship between diabetic risk factors and macular thickness in individuals without clinically detectable diabetic macular oedema has yet to be formally explored. The purpose of this study was to assess the correlation between macular thickness and diabetes control and duration.

Methods: This was a prospective, cross-sectional study.

Detection of glaucoma-like optic discs in a diabetes teleretinal program.

Background: Glaucoma is typically an insidious-onset disease with serious visual consequences that has been positively linked to diabetes mellitus (DM) in several studies. We assessed the sensitivity and specificity of a diabetes teleretinal program to identify the glaucoma-suspicious optic disc.

Methods: Outpatients with DM (N = 1,644) presenting to Veterans Affairs ambulatory clinics participated in a nonmydriatic digital retinal imaging (NMDRI) program.

Racial differences in macular thickness in healthy eyes.

Purpose: The relationship between race and macular thickness remains unknown. This relationship may be important for early and accurate diagnosis of macular disease and glaucoma, and may also provide insight into disease mechanisms. In this study, we compared macular thickness in healthy eyes of black and white subjects using optical coherence tomography (Stratus OCT).

Framework for a national teleretinal imaging program to screen for diabetic retinopathy in Veterans Health Administration patients.

Digital retinal imaging with remote image interpretation (teleretinal imaging) is an emerging healthcare technology for screening patients for diabetic retinopathy (DR). The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) convened an expert panel in 2001 to determine and resolve the requisite clinical, quality and training, information technology, and healthcare infrastructure issues associated with deploying a teleretinal imaging system. The panel formulated consensus recommendations based on available literature and identified areas of uncertainty that merited further clarification or research.

Nonmydriatic teleretinal imaging improves adherence to annual eye examinations in patients with diabetes.

We studied whether nonmydriatic digital retinal imaging with remote interpretation (teleretinal imaging) in the ambulatory care setting affected adherence to annual dilated eye examinations among patients with diabetes. We randomly assigned 448 patients to a teleretinal imaging group or a control group. We measured the number of patients who had dilated eye examinations within 12 months of group assignment and the agreement for level of diabetic retinopathy between teleretinal imaging and the eye examinations.