Association of Resolved Paracentral Acute Middle Maculopathy Lesions with Diabetic Retinopathy

To evaluate the association between paracentral acute middle maculopathy (PAMM) lesions and diabetic retinopathy (DR) using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA).

Thirteen diabetic patients without DR, 13 patients with mild nonproliferative DR (NPDR), 18 patients with moderate‑to‑severe NPDR, and 20 patients with proliferative DR (PDR) were included in this retrospective study. For each patient, 6 mm × 6 mm macular OCTA scans of both eyes were reviewed for the presence of acute and resolved PAMM lesions.

Among diabetic patients with and without DR, 49 (94.9%) and 7 (53.8%) patients demonstrated small resolved PAMM lesions, respectively. The odds ratio for the presence of resolved PAMM lesions in the eye with DR compared to the eye of diabetic patient without DR was 21.8 (P < 0.001, 95% confidence interval 7.0–67.8). In the mild NPDR group, moderate‑to‑severe NPDR group, and the PDR group, 11 (84.6%), 18 (100.0%), and 20 (100.0%) patients demonstrated resolved PAMM lesions, respectively. There was a statistically significant increasing prevalence of PAMM lesions as the severity of DR increased (P < 0.001).

Small resolved PAMM lesions are a common form of ischemic retinal lesions in DR.