Wide-field imaging in proliferative diabetic retinopathy

BACKGROUND: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the leading causes of vision loss worldwide. For decades, 7-field 30-degree fundus imaging has been the gold standard for DR classification. The aim of this review article is to discuss how the advent of ultra-wide-field (UWF) fundus imaging has changed the management of proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). MAIN BODY: Current data suggests that UWF imaging, as compared to conventional Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) fields, detects additional and more extensive PDR pathologies. DR lesions, captured by UWF imaging outside of ETDRS fields, likely carry prognostication value. CONCLUSION: UWF imaging represents a major advancement in the detection and management of DR. It remains unclear whether, when and how patients, with PDR changes only peripheral to standard ETDRS fields, should be treated. A larger, prospective, randomized clinical trial is also needed to compare the efficacy of UWF image-guided targeted laser photocoagulation with that of conventional panretinal photocoagulation.