Prevalence and severity of diabetic retinopathy among diabetic patients presenting to a tertiary eye hospital in Nepal

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study is to evaluate the prevalence and severity of diabetic retinopathy (DR) among all diabetic patients presenting to a tertiary eye care center in Nepal over a 3-year period. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective review of all clinical records from the initial presentations of diabetic patients at the Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology (TIO) from 2012 to 2014. RESULTS: In total, 8855 patients were identified who presented to TIO with a prior diagnosis of diabetic mellitus (DM) during the study period. DR was found in 1714 patients (19.4%) at the time of initial presentation, 1305 (14.7%) of which had nonproliferative DR (PDR), while 617 (6.9%) demonstrated diabetic macular edema (DME) and 409 (4.6%) demonstrated PDR. Of the 1714 patients with DR, 825 (48.1%) required treatment at initial presentation for DME and/or PDR. Male gender, hypertension, age at presentation, and interval from diagnosis of DM to initial eye consultation were significantly associated with the presence of DR (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of DR among patients with DM was 19.4%, which is lower than previously published estimates. However, among patients diagnosed with DR, over half presented with a vision-threatening complication warranting some measure of initial treatment.