| [ Summary ] |
Since 1998 in Japan, the most prevalent form of kidney disease for patients starting dialysis has been diabetic nephropathy. Preventing the worsening of diabetic retinopathy is important to improve quality of life for diabetic dialysis patients. Fortunately, since many patients have proliferative diabetic retinopathy, for which ophthalmic therapy is done before beginning dialysis, deterioration of diabetic retinopathy, due to dialysis, is thought to be rare. To prevent ocular complications (vitreous hemorrhage, macular degeneration and neo-vascular glaucoma) during continued dialysis, 3 points must be considered : (1) Ophthalmic therapy must be done after checking for diabetic retinopathy and before starting dialysis, (2) Ophthalmic consultation must be continued during maintenance dialysis, and (3) Management of the whole body, especially for renal anemia and hypertension, is important to prevent diabetic retinopathy. |