The ‘E’ in ETDRS stands for:
A. Elective treatmentB. Extended Rx
C. Early treatment
D. Eye test drum review study
Answer. C. Early treatment
The Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS)
evaluated the effectiveness of laser treatment for the leaking phase of
diabetic retinopathy. Patients with macular edema (leaking near or within the
center part of the retina, that part which is used for reading, driving
etc, see photo), were randomly assigned to receive either laser treatment to
the leaking microaneurysms or were simply observed without treatment The
results showed that timely laser treatment ieduced th risk of moderately severe
visual loss by about three-fold at three years after treatment and
significantly increased the likelihood of moderate visual gain. More
importantly, this study provides the treating retinal specialist with a detailed guide as to when laser therapy is
necessary based upon the location of leaking areas. With this knowledge, we can
treat patients at the appropriate time so as to prevent vision loss and
conversely, avoid unnecessary treatment for those for whom it is not beneficial.
