A Review of Diabetic Retinopathy-Pathophysiology, Clinical Presentation, and Management

Introduction: Diabetes is a metabolic disease that can lead to DR. So DR is nothing but a complication of diabetes mellitus which is characterized by gradual progressive loss of vision, macular oedema, blurred vision, floaters, etc. It is crucial to understand the severity of the disease and the risk factors associated with the disease to prevent the disease and reduce the incidence and prevalence of the disease. Also, there is a need for the screening of the disease to facilitate early detection of the disease and prevent the population from blindness. The aim of the review is to understand the disease according to its clinical features, grading and to learn more about the development in medicine for the management of the disease.

Methodology: Various literature search was performed up to November 2021 to understand the disease and its presentation in different stages. Various sources used are Pubmed, Mayo clinic, Google scholar. And then all research articles were thoroughly analyzed and combined to understand the pathophysiology, clinical presentation, and management of DR in different stages.

Result: DR is a microvascular disease and a complication of diabetes mellitus. There are various risk factors, hypothesis for the pathophysiology of the disease. All the information was summarized and presented in this review article

Conclusion: DR is a manageable disease and the best way to manage DR is by controlling blood sugar level, changing lifestyle and preventing the modifiable risk factors to prevent the progression of the disease.