Pulsatile ocular blood flow changes after panretinal photocoagulation treatment in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy

Abstract

To prospectively assess the effects of panretinal photocoagulation (PRP) treatment on pulsatile ocular blood flow (POBF) in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDRP). Materials and methods: The study included 40 eyes with PDRP in 27 patients. The PRP treatments were completed in 3 sessions with 3-week intervals. The intraocular pressure (IOP), pulse amplitude (PA), pulse volume (PV), and POBF changes that arose during the sessions were recorded using a blood flow analyzer. Results: The average age of the patients was 57.37 ± 11.14 years. The pre-PRP basal IOP, PA, PV, and POBF values were 20.44 ± 4.13 mmHg, 4.23 ± 1.73 mmHg, 6.89 ± 2.28 µL, and 21.86 ± 5.83 µL/s, respectively. One month after the completion of the PRP sessions, the values were 18.49 ± 4.44 mmHg, 2.78 ± 1.13 mmHg, 5.27 ± 2.08 uL, and 15.89 ± 5.05 µL/s, respectively, and the differences were significant (P = 0.001, P < 0.0001, P < 0.0001, and P < 0.0001, respectively). Conclusion: PRP treatment reduces the choroidal blood flow and consequently causes significant decreases in IOP, PA, PV, and POBF.