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DIABETIC SCREENING

This person attended for a routine appointment in 2010. She is Diabetic and is enrolled in the National Diabetic Screening Programme which checks for Diabetic changes using Retinal Images, generally on an annual basis. This screening was two weeks before the appointment with us and had received her ‘all clear’ letter the previous day. It is very important that people do attend their National Screen but we would also recommend attending an advanced eye examination including OCT whenever you are due.

OCT is fast becoming the Gold Standard in Diabetic screening and although it is not yet in the national programme it is slowly being incorporated in regional programmes. We have carried out OCT on all our clients who have opted for our advanced eye examinations since 2010.

The Left Retinal Photo shows no evidence at all of treatable diabetic changes. This is the same type of photograph used as the standard in the National Screening Programme, and hence the letter our patient had just received reassuring her that all appeared to be well.

The ‘Shadowgram Central’ shows the line where the Central B Scan has been taken. This Scan is right through the centre of the macula area, and looks absolutely normal. It is this area of the retina that is used to see fine detail, and after seeing the scan we were confident that our patient should be able to read the letters on the test-chart completely normally, (and indeed she could.)

However, looking then at the ‘Shadowgram Lower’ you will see a shaded area in the lower left quadrant. The B Scan taken through this, at the level of the green line, shows a separation of the retinal layers at the bottom of the scan. This is caused by fluid building up due to leakage within the retina and through from underneath. The retina is becoming thicker at this point, and the fluid is causing it to lift.

This lady was referred straight back to the Hospital Eye Service and is now receiving treatment to preserve her vision. Left untreated the result could have been very much more serious. The fluid could easily have spread to her central vision, affecting her ability to see.

This demonstrates the importance of OCT over standard retinal photography. In 2019 we have upgraded our OCT machine to include OCT Angiography (OCTA) which is now a further step beyond that routinely available through the National Screening programme. OCTA may reveal Diabetic retinopathy before it is clinically detectable.

Left Eye

retinal

retinal2

 

retinal3OCT B-Scan Lower

 

OCT B-Scan CentralShadowgram Lower