Pattern of diabetic retinopathy in a tertiary healthcare facility in Southern Nigeria

Objective: The objective is to determine the pattern and prevalence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) among patients living with diabetes mellitus. Methodology: Descriptive cross-sectional study in a tertiary hospital. Questionnaires were used to obtain data from eligible participants. Visual acuity measurement, fundal examination, and photography were performed together with fasting blood glucose and glycated hemoglobin A1c. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for Windows version 20 was used for data analysis. Results: Overall 200 patients were enrolled of which 75.5% were female. The participant's mean age was 53.8 ± 11.7 years. DR was present in 53/200 (26.5%) of participants, of which 52 (98.1%) had nonproliferative DR (NPDR), and 1 (1.9%) had proliferative DR (PDR). NPDR was mild in 44/53 (83.0%) and moderate in 8/53 (15.1%) patients. Evidence of sight-threatening DR was found in 37/200 (18.5%) of participants (36 had diabetic macular edema and 1 had PDR + DMO). Conclusions: DR was present in 26.5% of the study participants, and 18.5% had sight-threatening DR mainly due to DMO. This finding underscores the need for routine screening of all people living with diabetes to detect early DMO and provide treatment to prevent visual loss.