ESPE Abstracts

Uncontrolled diabetes mellitus is a disease with a wide range of systemic complications. Eye complications may seriously threaten quality of life. Diabetic retinopathy is the most frequent diabetic ocular complication. However, diabetic capilaropathy is a little known condition of diabetic retinopathy. It is an acute optic disc edema and/or macular edema; due to an acute hyperglycaemia.

Method: We present a case of a diabetic 14-years-old female with diabetic capilaropathy.

Results: A 14-year-old female with poor control of type 1 diabetes mellitus who suddenly shows loss of visual acuity associated with headache. Valued in ophtalmology, She presents a decrease in visual acuity associated with bilateral optic disc and macular edema. visula evoked potencials, electroneuroretinogram and macular optical tomography are initially altered. The initial study with blood test, chest X-ray and cranial computerized tomography is normal. The study continues with lumbar puncture, obtaining normal opening pressure cerebrospinal fluid and normal cytochemical and microbiological analysis. Finally, tuberculin skin test, quantiferon and cranial MRI are normal too. Metabolic control of diabetes is optimized by insulin therapy. After optimizing the treatment of the diabetes, a good evolution of visual acuity is observed with clinical normalization. Finally, macular optic coherence tomography and eye fundus tests are normalized.

Conclusions: 1) Poor blood glucose control may generate systemic and ocular complications. 2) Although the most well-known ocular complication is diabetic retinopathy, there are other ocular complications derived from poor diabetic control, such as diabetic capilarophaty. 3) The optimization of the treatment with insulin, can improve the diabetic capilaropathy.