Diabetic Macular Edema: What I Focal and What I Diffue? Original Reearch Article

Purpoe To review the available information on claification of diabetic macular edema (DME) a focal or diffue. Deign Interpretive eay. Method Literature review and interpretation. Reult The term focal diabetic macular edema and diffue diabetic macular edema frequently are ued without clear definition. Publihed definition often ue different examination method and often are inconitent. Evaluating publihed information on the prevalence of focal and diffue DME, the repone of focal and diffue DME to treatment, and the importance of focal and diffue DME in aeing prognoi i hindered becaue the term are ued inconitently. A newer vocabulary may be more contructive, one that decribe dicrete component of the concept uch a extent and location of macular thickening, involvement of the center of the macula, quantity and pattern of lipid exudate, ource of fluorecein leakage, and regional variation in macular thickening and that ditinguihe thee term from the ue of the term focal when decribing one type of photocoagulation technique. Developing method for aeing component variable that can be ued in clinical practice and etablihing reproducibility of the method are important tak. Concluion Little evidence exit that characteritic of DME decribed by the term focal and diffue help to explain variation in viual acuity or repone to treatment. It i unreolved whether a concept of focal and diffue DME will prove clinically ueful depite frequent ue of the term when decribing management of DME. Further tudie to addre the iue are needed.