Prevalence of Vitreous & Retinal Disorders among Sudanese Diabetic Patients: A B-Scan Ultrasonography Study

Abstract

Retina and vitreous abnormalities represent the most common eye disorders in diabetic patients; they may be associated with severe complications. Therefore, this study aimed to study the prevalence of vitreous and retinal pathologies in diabetic patients using B-Scan ultrasound (U/S). A total of two hundred and three Sudanese diabetic patients with long diabetic disease duration (mean 16.28 ± 4.830) years were enrolled in a descriptive-analytical study. 55% (n = 112) were males and 45% (n = 91) were females. The mean age of the participants was 62.28 ± 8.041(range between 30-79 years -old). The study was conducted in a Sudanese ophthalmologic hospital in Khartoum, during the period from 2016–2019. A Nidek (Echoscan US–4000) - B-scan ultrasound unit with 10 MHZ transducer was used. A high-frequency direct contact technique was applied. The inclusion criteria included adult diabetic patients. The vitreous and retina disorders were more prevalent in diabetic hypertensive participants 55 % (n = 112). The high frequency of the disorders was observed in age groups: 60–69 and 50–59 years-old. The most common disorder was retinal detachment which was detected in30.5% (n = 62) followed by vitreous changes in16.3% (n = 33). Posterior vitreous was observed in 15.8% (n = 32), vitreous hemorrhage seen in 15.3% (n = 31), both retinal detachment with vitreous hemorrhage were detected in 11.3%) (n = 23), retinal detachment with cataract were reported in 3.4% (n = 7), retinal detachment with Vitreous changes were seen in 3% (n = 6), and other changes were noted in 4.4% (n = 9) of the participants. There is no significant a statistical association between gender/diabetic duration and age with the disorders (P = 0.2, 0.43, and 0.5) respectively. Vitreous & Retinal disorders were more prevalent in diabetic hypertensive patients. The high frequency of the disorders was observed in the age group (50–70). The ultrasound is a useful method in diagnosing Vitreous & Retinal disorders among the diabetics.