Título / Title

PASCAL SHORT PULSE PLUS SUBTHRESHOLD ENDPOINT MANAGEMENT LASER FOR DIABETIC MACULAR EDEMA: THE “SANDWICH” TECHNIQUE

Introdução / Purpose

To evaluate the effect of combined sublethal laser modalities, short pulse photostimulation plus endpoint management subthreshold LASER (the Sandwich technique: SWiT), on central subfield thickness (CST) of patients with diabetic macular edema (DME).

Material e Método / Methods

In a consecutive retrospective study, 37 patients (37 eyes) with center-involving DME were treated with the SWIT laser from April 2013 to January 2019. The technique consisted of a mean number of 200 (range number: 95-400) SPD laser spots performed on juxta- and perifoveal area 500µm away from the foveal center overlapped with mean number of 900 (range number: 800-1200) EpM laser spots performed juxta- and perifoveal area 300µm away from the foveal center. All patients underwent ophthalmological evaluations that included BCVA and CST measurement on spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) before and after SWIT laser. The mean follow-up time was 19.2 months (range: 2-60 months).

Resultados / Results

35 out of 37 cases had an improvement in CSFT and BCVA following treatment. At baseline, mean CST (µm) ± standard error (SE) and mean BCVA (log-MAR) ± SE was 456.95 ± 37.00 and 0.71 ± 0.29 respectively. After a mean follow-up of 19.2 months, mean CSFT (µm) ± SE and BCVA (log-MAR) ± SE were 272.09 ± 9.10 (p < 0.0001) and 0.54 ± 0.26 (p = 0.003). A statistically significant reduction on CSFT (µm) and improvement on BCVA (log-MAR) was noted compared to baseline.

Discussão e Conclusões / Conclusion

The novel SWiT laser therapy reduced CSFT and improved BCVA in this retrospective case series. Further prospective studies are warranted.

Palavras Chave

Pascal laser, short pulse laser, endpoint management, diabetic macular edema.

Area

CLINICAL RETINA