2224 Vitreous hemorrhage in the diabetic patient: Evaluation of the ecographic semiology in it's evolutive clinical prognostic

Purpose. The aim of this study is: 1) to report the incidence of diabetic retinopathy in a group of 85 IDDM patients with normal fundi at the first control, observed for a period of 10 years; 2) to verify if the long-term follow-up of ERG oscillatory potentials (OPs) can be useful lo detect the onset of the early diabetic retinopathy (DR). Methods. The patients were submitted to one control per year for 10 years including: ERG registration, refraction and corrected visual acuity, fundus oculi examination and fluorescein angiography at the first control and after, if necessary. &.$u& At the end of the follow-up normal fundus was still present in 55 patients (Group A); the other patients showed a diabetic retinopathy (Group B) which was moderate (non proliferative) in 27 and severe (proliferative) in 3 cases. The mean duration of disease was significantly different between group A and group B. Moreover, the patients who developed a DR showed a slow and progressive decrease of the OP amplitude during the follow-up. C~rtdusions. In conclusion the “duration of disease” parameter is a true risk factors for DR; a decrease of OP amplitude during the follow-up, is suggestive for the risk of DR and it worsen the prognosis.