ReviewAmerican journal of ophthalmology2008
Diabetic macular edema: what is focal and what is diffuse?
Review in American journal of ophthalmology, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 58 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
58 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 129 citations in OpenAlex.
- Clinical effect of intravitreal ranibizumab and laser photocoagulation on diabetic macular edema: a meta-analysis.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2025Pooled it
- Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor for diabetic macular oedema: a network meta-analysis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor for diabetic macular oedema: a network meta-analysis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018Pooled it
- Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor for diabetic macular oedema: a network meta-analysis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2017Pooled it
- Optical coherence tomography (OCT) for detection of macular oedema in patients with diabetic retinopathy.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2015Pooled it
- Islets persisting on OCT macular thickness map after intravitreal injections unmask telangiectatic capillaries (TelCaps) in diabetic macular edema.Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie · 2026Trial
- Effect of leaking perifoveal microaneurysms on resolution of diabetic macular edema treated by combination therapy using anti-vascular endothelial growth factor and short pulse focal/grid laser photocoagulation.Japanese journal of ophthalmology · 2017Trial
- Association of the extent of diabetic macular edema as assessed by optical coherence tomography with visual acuity and retinal outcome variables.Retina (Philadelphia, Pa.) · 2009Trial
- Magnitude, patterns, and determinant factors of diabetic macular edema among people with diabetes at Debre Markos Referral Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia, 2025: a hospital-based cross-sectional study.International ophthalmology · 2026Article
- Intravitreal Faricimab Prior to Direct Photocoagulation Improves Anatomical Outcomes in Focal Diabetic Macular Edema.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Intravitreal Bevacizumab Alone Vs Combined With Topical Timolol-Dorzolamide or Dorzolamide for Diabetic Macular Edema: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2025Review
- Flare levels after intravitreal injection of brolucizumab for diabetic macular edema.Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie · 2024Article
- Aflibercept or ranibizumab for diabetic macular edema.Medical hypothesis, discovery & innovation ophthalmology journal · 2024Article
- Quantification of dilated deep capillaries in diabetic retinopathy on optical coherence tomography angiography.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Pathological Neurovascular Unit Mapping onto Multimodal Imaging in Diabetic Macular Edema.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2023Review
- Role of Microaneurysms in the Pathogenesis and Therapy of Diabetic Macular Edema: A Descriptive Review.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2023Review
- How should we report the foveal status in eyes with "macula-off" retinal detachment?Eye (London, England) · 2023Review
- Regional Variety of Reduction in Retinal Thickness of Diabetic Macular Edema after Anti-VEGF Treatment.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2022Article
- Large-cube 30° × 25° optical coherence tomography in diabetic macular edema.International journal of retina and vitreous · 2021Article
- Statement of the German Ophthalmological Society, the German Retina Society, and the Professional Association of Ophthalmologists in Germany on treatment of diabetic macular edema : Dated August 2019.Der Ophthalmologe : Zeitschrift der Deutschen Ophthalmologischen Gesellschaft · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
purposeTo review the available information on classification of diabetic macular edema (DME) as focal or diffuse.
designInterpretive essay.
methodsLiterature review and interpretation.
resultsThe terms focal diabetic macular edema and diffuse diabetic macular edema frequently are used without clear definitions. Published definitions often use different examination methods and often are inconsistent. Evaluating published information on the prevalence of focal and diffuse DME, the responses of focal and diffuse DME to treatments, and the importance of focal and diffuse DME in assessing prognosis is hindered because the terms are used inconsistently. A newer vocabulary may be more constructive, one that describes discrete components of the concepts such as extent and location of macular thickening, involvement of the center of the macula, quantity and pattern of lipid exudates, source of fluorescein leakage, and regional variation in macular thickening and that distinguishes these terms from the use of the term focal when describing one type of photocoagulation technique. Developing methods for assessing component variables that can be used in clinical practice and establishing reproducibility of the methods are important tasks.
conclusionsLittle evidence exists that characteristics of DME described by the terms focal and diffuse help to explain variation in visual acuity or response to treatment. It is unresolved whether a concept of focal and diffuse DME will prove clinically useful despite frequent use of the terms when describing management of DME. Further studies to address the issues are needed.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.