The effect of diabetes on short-term outcomes following epiretinal membrane surgery.

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the association of diabetes with anatomical and functional outcomes of epiretinal membrane surgery.

Methods: Consecutive patients who underwent epiretinal membrane surgery between 2017-2021 at Helsinki University Hospital, Finland. Here we examined the association of diabetes, glycemic control, and requirement for insulin medication with surgical outcomes at 1-month.

Results: Included were 214 eyes of 214 patients, with a mean age of 71.2 ± 8.2 years. Among patients with diabetes (n = 45), neither significant differences were observed in anatomical outcomes (- 47.8 ± 72.7 μm vs. - 38.3 ± 103 μm for foveal thickness, p = 0.566 and - 41.6 ± 61.8 μm vs. - 41.7 ± 85.7 μm for central subfield macular thickness, p = 0.996) nor in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) gain (0.06 ± 0.22 vs 0.12 ± 0.30 LogMAR units, p = 0.214) compared to those without diabetes. In a multivariate analysis adjusted for age, gender, the existence of preoperative macular cysts, and topical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) use, the results remained consistent. The last preoperative HbA1c levels did not correlate with changes in foveal (Pearson's r = 0.218, p = 0.264) or central subfield macular thickness (r = 0.365, p = 0.056), or with BCVA gain (r = -0.177, p = 0.386). Insulin therapy for diabetes did not associate with the outcomes (p > 0.05 for anatomical and functional comparisons).

Conclusions: In a cohort of patients who underwent epiretinal membrane surgery, neither the presence of diabetes, nor glycemic control and the use of insulin medication associated with the outcomes.