Management and visual outcome of neovascular glaucoma in diabetes mellitus patients

Abstract

Aim of this study was to analyse the management of neovascular glaucoma (NVG) in patients with diabetes mellitus and assess the visual outcome. A retrospective case series was conducted. 20 diabetic patients with NVG who attended the retina clinic over a period of 1 year were taken for the study and were followed up for 6 months to 1 year. Among them, 15 patients had an effectively controlled intraocular pressure (IOP) after the treatment (16.68 ± 4.69 mmHg) as compared to the pre-treatment levels (42.59 ± 9.44, p<0.05). There was improvement in visual acuity to a certain extent in 12 eyes (62.7%) whereas visual acuity in 4 (23.5%) eyes was noted to be ≥0.1, remained the same in 3 (17.6%) eyes, and became worse in 1 (5.8%) eye. Results showed that a comprehensive management with adequate number of pan-retinal photocoagulations (PRP), intravitreal/intracameral anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injections and early surgical interventions along with strict diabetic control can avert visual loss and improve the prognosis.