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The following is a summary of “Effect of diabetes on short-term outcomes following epiretinal membrane surgery,” published in the December 2024 issue of Ophthalmology by Hecht et al. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to evaluate the association of diabetes with anatomical and functional outcomes after epiretinal membrane surgery. 

They analyzed data from consecutive patients who underwent epiretinal membrane surgery between 2017 and 2021 at Helsinki University Hospital (Finland) and investigated the association of diabetes, glycemic control, and the need for insulin medication with surgical outcomes at the 1-month postoperative mark. 

The results showed among 214 eyes from 214 patients (mean age 71.2 ± 8.2 years), no major differences were observed in anatomical outcomes between patients with diabetes (n = 45) and those without diabetes. Foveal thickness changes were −47.8 ± 72.7 μm vs −38.3 ± 103 μm (P = 0.566), and central subfield macular thickness changes were −41.6 ± 61.8 μm vs −41.7 ± 85.7 μm (P = 0.996). Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) gain was 0.06 ± 0.22 vs 0.12 ± 0.30 LogMAR units (P = 0.214). Adjustments for age, gender, preoperative macular cysts, and topical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use yielded consistent results. Preoperative HbA1c levels showed no correlation with changes in foveal thickness (Pearson’s r = 0.218, P = 0.264), central subfield macular thickness (r = 0.365, P = 0.056), or BCVA gain (r = −0.177, P = 0.386). Insulin therapy was not linked with anatomical or functional outcomes (P > 0.05). 

Investigators concluded the patients who underwent epiretinal membrane surgery, diabetes, glycemic control, and insulin use were not linked with surgical outcomes. 

Source: link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10792-024-03373-6