Diabetic retinopathy classification is a term used for individuals who suffer impaired vision resulting from damage to the retina as a complication of their diabetes mellitus. The retinopathy can occur as proliferative or nonproliferative, depending upon the presence or absence of atypical new blood vessels stemming from the retina. Retinal damage is normally secondary to another form of eye disease like vessel hemorrhage, neovascular glaucoma, retinal detachment, or macular edema, which is thickening and swelling of the retinal wall.
The majority of diabetics will endure some form of vision impairment over the course of their lifetime with the progression of their disease. In addition to type and duration of diabetes, factors such as how well their blood glucose, blood pressure, cholesterol, and serum lipid levels are controlled influence an individual’s susceptibility for diabetic retinopathy. According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, upwards of 24,000 people who have diabetes will become legally blind due to some form of diabetic retinopathy each year. The principal cause of vision loss for people between the ages of twenty-five and seventy-four is a classification of diabetic retinopathy.
There are rarely any signs or symptoms of retinopathy until the disease has significantly progressed. Therefore, it is recommended that diabetics see their ophthalmologists on a regular basis for preventative care. In a study conducted by the National Eye Institute, etdrs diabetic retinopathy classification found that photocoagulation was able to minimize vision loss and decrease retinal thickening in people with macular edema. In addition, early victrectomy and scatter treatments were helpful in reducing vision loss for patients with non-insulin dependent diabetes, or type 2 diabetes. The institute suspected that taking aspirin would assist in platelet aggregation and in closing capillaries, but the results of the study did not confirm this hypothesis. It is important to note that diabetics who take aspirin need to do so with a doctor’s recommendation due to the risks associated with it.
Wagner Classification of Diabetic Foot
Wagner Classification of Diabetic Footis the most widely used and accepted system for gradinglesions of the foot due to diabetes. The classification of diabetic foot uses a scale of zero to five with various combinations of injury. A zero grade is a high-risk foot with no ulcers, while a grade one foot has developed ulcers covering the entire foot, but they have not reached the tissues underneath. Grade two shows deep ulcers that penetrate through to the muscles and ligaments beneath the surface of the foot. Grade three is worse yet as the ulcers recede to the bones with cellulitis, abscess formation, or osteomyelitis. Grade four is partial gangrene and grade five is total gangrene.
Diabetic Foot Classification
The University of Texas as an addition to the Wagner classification “diabetic foot” has also observed diabetic foot classification. They added a classification of diabetic foot wounds, regarding the severity of the ulcers based on Wagner’s grade one, two, and three. They utilized A, B, C, and D, to accomplish this task. A indicates the ulcer is non-infected and non-ischemic, while B assumes the ulcer is infected and non-ischemic. C presumes the ulcer is non-infected and ischemic, and Dindicates the ulcer is infected and ischemic. For example, III-A indicates a non-infected and non-ischemic ulcer that penetrates deep to the bone, or has abscessed. There is no grading system for Wagner’s four and five as no ulcers-only gangrene-are included in those fields.
