Distribution of Microaneurysms and Hemorrhages in Accordance with the Grading of Diabetic Retinopathy in Type Diabetes Patients

TL;DR

This study shows that microaneurysms and hemorrhages are more common in certain eye regions for diabetic retinopathy, especially in severe cases.

Contribution

The study identifies quadrant-specific patterns of microaneurysms and hemorrhages in diabetic retinopathy using automated image analysis.

Findings

Microaneurysms and hemorrhages are most frequent in the temporal and inferior quadrants of the ETDRS grid.

Severe diabetic retinopathy shows significantly higher counts in these quadrants compared to other types.

Differences between quadrants are statistically significant at p < 0.001.

Abstract

(1) Underlying Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) is the primary cause of poor vision in young adults. There are automatic image reading systems that can aid screening for DR. (2) Methods: Using our automatic reading system we have counted the number of microaneurysms and hemorrhages in the four quadrants of the ETDRS grid and evaluated the differences between them according to the type of DR. The study was carried out using data from two different databases, MESSIDOR and MIRADATASET. (3) Results: The majority of microaneurysms and hemorrhages are found in the temporal and inferior quadrants of the ETDRS grid. Differences are significant with respect to the other two quadrants at p < 0.001. Differences between the type of DR show that severe-DR has a greater number of microaneurysms and hemorrhages in the temporal and inferior quadrant, being significant at p < 0.001. (4) Conclusions: The count of microaneurysms and hemorrhages is higher in the temporal and inferior quadrants in all types of DR, and those differences are more important in the case of severe-DR.

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