Introduction/objectives: Diabetic Kidney Disease (DKD) is the leading cause of end-stage kidney disease. Despite optimal glycemic control and blood pressure management, progression to DKD cannot be halted in some patients. We aimed to find the association of modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors and comorbid conditions in patients with DKD. Methods: Retrospective medical record review of adult patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) was performed who visited our internal medicine office between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020. Results: Among 728 patients with DM, 471 (64.7%) patients had DKD, and 257 (35.3%) patients were without DKD. Among the group of patients with DKD, the majority were in CKD stage G1A2 (34.6%), followed equally by G2A2 and G3aA1 (16.8% each). Mean age of the patients with DKD was significantly greater than the patients without DKD (69.4 years vs 62.2 years; P < .001). For each unit increase in age, there was a 7.8% increase in the odds of DKD (95% CI 5.3-10.4; P < .001). Women had 2.32 times greater odds of DKD (95% CI, 1.41-3.81; P = .001). We found decreased odds of DKD for those who consumed alcohol moderately (OR 0.612, 95% CI 0.377-0.994; P < .05). Significantly higher frequencies of associations of several comorbid medical conditions were seen in patients with DKD compared to the patients without DKD, such as hypertension (91.9% vs 75.6%), hyperlipidemia (86.6% vs 78.2%), coronary artery disease (39.3% vs 16.8%), cerebrovascular accidents (13.4% vs 7.4%), congestive heart failure (12.9% vs 4.1%), carotid artery stenosis (11.3% vs 2.6%), aortic aneurysm (5.4% vs 2.0%), peripheral artery disease (10.8% vs 3.5%), gout (12.4% vs 5.5%), and osteoarthritis (41.4% vs 31.2%). Conclusions: In patients with diabetes, increasing age, female sex, and lack of moderate alcohol consumption were associated with increased odds of DKD. Higher frequencies of association of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular accidents, congestive heart failure, carotid artery stenosis, aortic aneurysm, peripheral artery disease, gout, and osteoarthritis were also seen in patients with DKD.

This study investigated whether the interval of monitoring at-risk, fellow eyes of patients with unilateral neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) has any bearing on the severity of the disease at the time of diagnosis. The study comprised a retrospective, cross-sectional comparative case series of treatment-naïve eyes in patients who were diagnosed sequentially with nAMD. We compared the visual acuity (VA) and central macular thickness (CMT) of patients who were actively receiving intravitreal injections (IVIs) of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) agents at the time of second eye diagnosis with the VA and CMT of patients who had ceased treatment in their first eye because of reaching end-stages of disease. Intervals of visits and frequency of monitoring the macula of fellow eyes by means of optical coherence tomography (OCT) were abstracted from the medical record. We found that the at-risk fellow eyes of patients who had stopped treatment for nAMD in their first eye prior to fellow eye conversion were monitored significantly less frequently than the fellow eyes of patients who continued to receive treatment at the time of second eye diagnosis. Despite less frequent monitoring, VA and CMT were similar at the time of fellow eye diagnosis for both groups.

Background This study compares the visual and anatomical outcomes for the eyes of patients who developed sequential neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD), both at the time of diagnosis and at one year after treatment. Methods The study comprised a retrospective case series of 52 patients whose eyes were diagnosed sequentially with nAMD. All eyes were treated with three monthly loading doses of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor agents, followed by further intravitreal injections, as required. Baseline characteristics and outcomes at one year after diagnosis and initial treatment were compared between first and second eyes and included visual acuity (VA), central macular thickness (CMT), and pigment epithelial detachment (PED) height on optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging. Results VA at diagnosis was better for second eyes compared with first eyes to develop nAMD (logMAR 0.68 ± 0.51 versus logMAR 0.41 ± 0.34, P = 0.002) and remained so at one year (logMAR 0.61 ± 0.60 versus logMAR 0.42 ± 0.37, P = 0.041). Similarly, PED height at diagnosis was higher in first eyes (225 ± 176 μm versus 155 ± 144 μm, P = 0.003) and also at one year (188 ± 137 μm versus 140 ± 112 μm, P = 0.019). Whereas most patients reported symptoms at first eye diagnosis (71.2%), half as many second eyes were symptomatic (28.8%, P < 0.001). Significantly more symptomatic first eyes experienced visual distortions (32.4% versus 13.3%) or scotomas (29.4% versus 6.7%), compared with a less specific visual complaint of blurry vision (38.2% versus 80.0%, P = 0.006). Conclusions Compared with first eyes to develop nAMD, second eyes tended to have better vision, smaller PED heights, and fewer symptoms likely because monitoring permitted earlier diagnosis.