Ocular blood flow evaluation with laser speckle flowgraphy in clinical practice for proliferative diabetic retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy (DR), a severe late neuromicrovascular complication of diabetes mellitus, is one of the most acute problems of modern ophthalmology. The study presents the medical history of severe proliferative DR patient during her treatment with bilateral panretinal laser photocoagulation and unilateral microinvasive vitrectomy. The status of blood flow was examined with laser speckle flowgraphy (LSFG), an innovative non-invasive vascular diagnostic methodology. The blood flow parameters in large vessels as well as in microvasculature before and after treatment were compared and analyzed. It was detected that transient decrease in blood flow during treatment was followed with its subsequent restoration. A greater decrease in blood flow at baseline markedly coupled with more severe disease course. LSFG was thus shown to be an efficient method of blood flow diagnostic in DR patients.