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Article Type

Original Study

Abstract

Objectives The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of fundus autofluorescence (FAF) in the diagnosis of diabetic macular edema (DME) and to compare it with optical coherence tomography findings. Background FAF imaging is a new technology that can be used to characterize eyes with macular disease. Specific FAF patterns observed in patients with DME seem to correlate with various optical coherence tomography patterns rather than with visual acuity. Patients and methods This study included a total of 51 eyes (26 right and 25 left eyes) of 27 patients (12 male and 15 female) with a mean age of 56.5 years. Main outcome measurements included best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), central macular thickness (CMT), the integrity of photoreceptors inner/outer segment junction (IS/OS), and the presence or absence of increased FAF (iFAF) at the foveola. Results Among the 51 eyes, 37 (72.5%) eyes had no FAF, eight (15.7%) eyes had single-spot iFAF, and six (11.8%) eyes had multispot iFAF; only three (5.8%) eyes of 51 eyes showed the presence of iFAF at the foveola. There was a significant association between grades of FAF regarding intact IS/OS layer (P = 0.003) and significant association between grades of FAF regarding partly interrupted IS/OS layer (P = 0.04). There was a significant association between grades of FAF and the mean CMT (P = 0.002). There was a nonsignificant association between grades of FAF and the mean values of BCVA (P = 0.27), and there was a highly significant positive correlation between BCVA and CMT (P < 0.001). Conclusion FAF might reflect the damage of the retina and had a relationship with the integrity of photoreceptors, as well as CMT, which gives new insight into the evaluation of DME, but it cannot reflect the severity of DME and cannot help us to evaluate the visual function of the patients.

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