The effect of panretinal photocoagulation on pulsatile ocular blood flow in diabetic retinopathy

Purpose: To investigate the effect of panretinal photocoagulation on pulsatile ocular blood flow in patients with diabetic retinopathy.Material and Method: Totally, 40 eyes of 27 patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy between the ages of 26-75, who have been followed by the retina unit of the department of ophthalmolgy of Karadeniz Technical University between 2008-2010 and applied photocoagulation were enrolled in the study. PRP was completed in three sessions in each eye. The values of the maximum intraocular pressure (max. IOP), minimum intraocular pressure (min. IOP), mean intraocular pressure (mean IOP), pulse amplitude (PA), pulse volume (PV), pulsatile ocular blood flow (POBF), maximum net inflow (MNI), pulsatility equivalence index (PEQ), inflow duration ratio (IDR) were measured four times (before the sessions and on the first month after PRP), using ocular blood flow device (Paradigm Medical, Utah, USA) and the differences were compared statistically.Results: The mean ages of cases was 57.37±11.14 (26-75), 15 (55.6 %) were female and 12 (44.4 %) were male. The mean IOP values acquired in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th measurements were 20.44, 18.02, 17.97, 18.49 mmHg; PA values were 4.23, 3.19, 2.97, 2.78 mmHg; PV values were 6.89, 6.09, 5.62, 5.27 µl; POBF values were 21.86, 18.1, 17.42, 15.89 µl/dk; MNI values were 2374.13, 2110.5, 1927.85, 1767.7; PEQ values were 2.83, 2.91, 2.87, 2.91; IDR were 43.18, 42.75, 43.58, 42.75, respectively.Conclusion: In cases with PDR to whom panretinal photocoagulation were applied, the POBF values decreased independently of the intraocular pressure changes.