[Contrast sensitivity in diabetic retinopathy treated with argon laser panphotocoagulation].
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate contrast sensitivity in patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR) treated with argon laser panphotocoagulation.


METHODS
Prospective study of patients with diabetic retinopathy and 20/20 visual acuity, treated with retinal panphotocoagulation, following ETDRS criteria. The patients were submitted, initially, to complete ophthalmologic evaluation and contrast sensitivity testing (Vision Contrast Test System). After 3 months of treatment, they were reevaluated by means of visual acuity and contrast sensitivity.


RESULTS
The sample comprised 28 patients (28 eyes), all with type II diabetes. A ranged from 45 to 77 years (mean 57.8+/-8.0), 19 (67.9%) patients were male and 9 (32.1%) female. Regarding the type of retinopathy, 18 (64.3%) had proliferative DR and 10 (35.7%) very severe non proliferative RD. No visual acuity alteration was observed after treatment. In relation to contrast sensitivity, there were no alterations between pre and post-treatment in all evaluated spacial frequencies 1.5 (p=0.191); 3.0 (p=0.850); 6.0 (p=0.374); 12.0 (p=0.674) e 18.0 (p=0.443).


CONCLUSIONS
There was no significant alteration in the contrast sensitivity of patients with diabetic retinopathy after panphotocoagulation with argon laser in the studied period.
D000368:Aged; D015350:Contrast Sensitivity / Q000502:physiology*; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery; D003930:Diabetic Retinopathy / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017075:Laser Coagulation / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology
Sensibilidade ao contraste na retinopatia diabética tratada por panfotocoagulação com laser de argônio.