Retinal diseases impair the performance of diabetics. Many are unaware of the need to control their vision

More than 2 million people in Poland suffer from diabetes. Diabetic macular edema-DME-occurs in 14 percent of patients. Diabetic macular edema is one of the most common causes of permanent, severe visual impairment in people between the ages of 20 and 64. Unfortunately, the disease can be asymptomatic for many years. That's why prevention is fundamental. This includes regular eye examinations.

- Young patients with diabetes should have their eyes checked at least once every two years, and older or diabetic patients should have their eyes checked at least once a year. This will help protect against various diseases that may arise after all. Regular examinations allow you to maintain good eyesight for a very long time. It used to be said that diabetic retinopathies were an inevitable complication of diabetes. Today this no longer has to be the case, but on the condition that the doctor has a chance to see early that something is going on," says Malgorzata Pacholec of the Retina AMD Association.

Early diagnosis, he adds, allows rapid implementation of treatment. As it turns out, the one Polish patients can count on corresponds to world standards and allows patients to significantly improve their functioning.

- One boon for DME patients is anti-VEGF drug therapy. We have a drug program that is a fantastic tool to keep the patient monitored. The drugs available today for DME therapy can not only suppress macular edema, but also quiet it for a long time. There may even be an improvement in vision," points out Malgorzata Pacholec.

Unfortunately, patients are still diagnosed too late. In order for them to be successfully included in treatment, they must treat their diabetes first with a diabetologist, then with a PCP, and then go to an ophthalmologist. Queues to this specialist, however, are among the longest. In extreme cases, one has to wait up to two years for an appointment. There is also a lack of knowledge in diabetic patients that their eyesight should be regularly checked.

- We have an excellent DME treatment program that meets world standards. What is lacking, however, is the knowledge that it has. This knowledge is already lacking at the level of the primary care physician, which is, after all, where our patients go first. Diabetic patients also have varying levels of knowledge that eye health needs to be monitored. Not everyone has equal access to education and knowledge. Things are certainly better in larger cities. Seniors in smaller towns, on the other hand, are especially in need of care. Associations do not reach everywhere, and unfortunately this knowledge is less," says Monika Kaczmarek, president of the main board of the Polish Diabetes Association.

A way to relieve the burden on ophthalmologists and reduce queues to their offices could be to include advice provided by optometrists in the basket of guaranteed benefits and use innovative technological tools for examinations.

- We have a modern diagnosis system that detects civilization diseases of the retina, such as glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration. For this examination, an ophthalmologist is not needed at the first stage. It can be performed by an optometrist, a nurse or even any technician after a short training. This allows the doctor to concentrate on these patients. At one of our clients, we were able to reduce queues by 70 percent. - Dawid Caban of MDT says.

The tool used by MDT works based on analysis performed by artificial intelligence.

- The algorithms were given a great many images of healthy retinas and those with lesions to analyze. The algorithm has learned to recognize them at this earliest stage, when even the human eye cannot catch it. The system we have detects the disease and its stage. If we find changes, we have the ability to provide remote access to the coded examination by an ophthalmologist. Based on this, the doctor determines whether a visit is already necessary, or whether the examination is worth repeating, for example, in six months," adds Dawid Caban.

Such tests were performed, among others, at the Diet during the World Diabetes Day celebrations. After examining nearly 250 people, more than 15 percent were found to have a suspected one of the retinal diseases, and nearly 3 percent. - other ophthalmic conditions.

Importantly, we can very easily spot disturbing signals that may indicate retinal disease even without visiting a doctor. All it takes is a single printout or tile on the wall. This involves the Amsler Test.

- It involves looking at even square grids, such as grout tiles. We check to see if the lines curve for us, or if there are also some cavities in the image. This can also be a printed test sheet, attached to the refrigerator. We can easily download such a test from the Internet," advises Malgorzata Pacholec.