Electroretinograms in Chronic Renal Failure Patients with Diabetic Retinopathy

Kim, Soo Hyun; Ohn, Young Hoon

Abstract

PURPOSE: To assess retinal function in chronic renal failure (CRF) by comparing the electroretinograms (ERGs) of CRF patients with diabetic retinopathy and those of diabetic retinopathy patients with normal renal function.
METHODS
63 eyes of 35 diabetic patients of diabetic retinopathy with CRF (group 1) and 86 eyes of 60 diabetic patients of diabetic retinopathy with normal renal function (group 2) were studied retrospec-tively. Eyes with vitreous hemorrhage, cataract and/or another ocular abnormalities were excluded. A fluorescein angiogram was performed in each patient to determine the stage of diabetic retinopathy and ERGs were performed to identify the differences between the groups.
RESULTS
Of the 63 eyes in group 1, 44 were in the non-proliferative stage (group 1-N) and 19 proliferative (group 1-P). Of the 86 eyes in group 2, 52 were non-proliferative (group 2-N) and 34 proliferative (group 2-P). The group 1 a- and b-wave amplitude decreased significantly compared with group 2 (P<0.05), while the group 1 b-wave implicit time increased compared with group 2 (P<0.05). The group 1 oscillatory potentials (OPs) decreased compared with group 2, although not significantly (p>0.05).
CONCLUSION
With the comparison of ERGs, We found the degree of retinal damage is more severe in diabetic retinopathy patients who have CRF than those who have normal renal function.