AUTOMATED PERIMETRIC CHANGES FOLLOWING PANRETINAL PHOTOCOAGULATION INDIABETIC-RETINOPATHY

Sixty eyes-30 with severe nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) and 30 with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR)-underwent argon laser panretinal photocoagulation (PRP). Static perimetry (Humphrey au tomated visual field analyzer 630, Threshold Prog Central 30-1 and Per i 30/60-1) was done 1 day before and 6 weeks after the initial laser t reatment. One day before treatment, the fields of the NPDR and PDR eye s differed mainly in the central field affection: the PDR eyes had mor e localized areas of markedly decreased retinal sensitivity and, there fore, a higher initial mean deviation value and higher corrected patte rn standard deviation values. However, peripheral retinal sensitivity was equally depressed in the NPDR and PDR eyes. Six weeks after treatm ent, central retinal sensitivity had significantly improved in all of the eyes, although more so in the eyes with severe NPDR. This study su ggests that static-perimetry-guided PRP is an effective treatment for diabetic retinopathy, especially severe NPDR.