Study of incidence of transient retinopathy in pregnant women with diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Purpose. Assessment of the incidence progression of transient retinopathy (TR) in pregnant women with diabetes mellitus (DM). Material and methods. 24 pregnant women with DM were examined in each trimester of pregnancy and 3 months after delivery. In 10 pregnant women, diabetic retinopathy (DR) was not detected, in 14 (58 %) DR was diagnosed. With the progression of DR panretinal photocoagulation (PRP) was performed. Results. Progression of DR during pregnancy was observed in 9 (64 %) patients with preproliferative and proliferative DR and uncompensated glycemia, macular edema (ME) developed in both eyes in 3 patients. According to optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A), in all these patients, a progressive expansion of retinal nonperfusion zones in the superficial or deep plexus during pregnancy was detected. In all patients with progression of DR, the symptoms of retinopathy persisted in the postpartum period. “Transient” was focal macular edema in one patient with preproliferative DR, which regressed after delivery. Conclusions. 1. DR, detected at the beginning of pregnancy, progressed in 64% of pregnant women against the background of glycemic status decompensation. 2. TR occurred in one case and was manifested by transient macular edema. 3. According to our data, DR manifesting during pregnancy is most often true. 4. Identification of non-perfusion zones in the superficial and deep retinal plexus using the OCT-A allows differential diagnosis of DR and TR in pregnant women with DM. Keywords: transient retinopathy, diabetic retinopathy, pregnancy, optical coherence tomography angiography.