Abbreviations Commonly Used in Diabetes-Related Eye Exam Reports and Their Definitions
| Abbreviation . | Definition . |
|---|---|
| BCVA | Best corrected visual acuity |
| CN | Cranial nerve; various CN palsies can hinder extraocular motility in specific ways. |
| CWS | Cotton wool spot; also known as soft exudates, these are infarcts within the retinal nerve fiber layer that appear white and feathery. |
| DME | Diabetes-related macular edema; an ocular complication of diabetes characterized by fluid build-up in the macula— the part of the eye responsible for clear straight-ahead vision. |
| DMI | Diabetes-related macular ischemia; DMI refers to the presence of occlusion, atrophy, or loss of retinal capillaries in the macula, with narrowing or obliteration of precapillary arterioles. |
| DR/DRD | Diabetes-related retinopathy or diabetes-related retinal disease; the most common and serious type of diabetes-related ocular complication, DR or DRD refers to mild to severe damage to retinal blood vessels caused by high blood glucose. |
| EOM | Extraocular motility; movement of the six muscles that, when functioning properly, allow the eyes to move and focus together in various directions. |
| FAZ | Foveal avascular zone; an area at the center of the retina that is devoid of blood vessels. |
| HE | Hard exudates; HEs are distinct white/yellow cholesterol deposits resulting from active or resolved DME. |
| IOP | Intraocular pressure; fluid pressure inside the eye that, if elevated, could be a sign of glaucoma. |
| IRMA | Intraretinal microvascular abnormality; one of the defining features of severe NPDR (see definition below), IRMAs are abnormal branching or widened retinal blood vessels that supply areas of nonperfusion in DRD. |
| MA | Microaneurysm; an early sign of DRD, MAs are small-vessel aneurysms resulting from weakening of capillary walls. |
| NPDR | Nonproliferative diabetes-related retinal disease; the more common form of DRD, NPDR is a condition in which the walls of retinal blood vessels weaken and sometimes leak fluid and blood into the retina, but new blood vessels are not yet growing (proliferating) in response to this damage. It is subclassified as mild, moderate, and severe and can also cause DME (see definition above). |
| NVI | Neovascularization of the iris; NVI occurs when new blood vessels grow in response to retinal ischemia, is associated with PDR (see definition below), and may cause spontaneous hyphema and neovascular glaucoma. |
| NVD/NVE | Neovascularization of the disk or elsewhere in the retina; NVD/NVE occurs when new blood vessels grow in response to retinal ischemia, is associated with PDR (see definition below), and may cause spontaneous vitreous hemorrhage. |
| OCT | Optical coherence tomography; an imaging test that uses light waves to take cross-section pictures of the retinal, OCT allows ECPs to see and measure the distinctive layers of the retina to diagnose and guide treatment of DRD and glaucoma. |
| OCTA | Optical coherence tomography angiography; OCTA is an imaging technique that uses laser light reflectance of the surface of moving red blood cells to accurately depict retinal vessels without the use of dye. |
| PDR | Proliferative diabetes-related retinal disease; PDR is the most advanced stage of DRD, characterized by the growth of new, fragile blood vessels in the retina (neovascularization). |
| TRD | Tractional retinal detachment; TRD is the separation of the neurosensory retina from the retinal pigment epithelium resulting from the traction caused by proliferative membranes present over the retinal surface or vitreous. |
| UWF | Ultra-widefield; UWF imaging provides a 200° panoramic image of the retina, allowing ECPs to better visualize and evaluate retinal abnormalities. |
| VB | Venous beading; a late-stage finding in NPDR that represents weakened walls of major retinal vessels, VB is one of the strongest predictors for progression to PDR. |
| VH | Vitreous hemorrhage; VHs are caused by bleeding from fine neovascular blood vessels in the eye. |
| Abbreviation . | Definition . |
|---|---|
| BCVA | Best corrected visual acuity |
| CN | Cranial nerve; various CN palsies can hinder extraocular motility in specific ways. |
| CWS | Cotton wool spot; also known as soft exudates, these are infarcts within the retinal nerve fiber layer that appear white and feathery. |
| DME | Diabetes-related macular edema; an ocular complication of diabetes characterized by fluid build-up in the macula— the part of the eye responsible for clear straight-ahead vision. |
| DMI | Diabetes-related macular ischemia; DMI refers to the presence of occlusion, atrophy, or loss of retinal capillaries in the macula, with narrowing or obliteration of precapillary arterioles. |
| DR/DRD | Diabetes-related retinopathy or diabetes-related retinal disease; the most common and serious type of diabetes-related ocular complication, DR or DRD refers to mild to severe damage to retinal blood vessels caused by high blood glucose. |
| EOM | Extraocular motility; movement of the six muscles that, when functioning properly, allow the eyes to move and focus together in various directions. |
| FAZ | Foveal avascular zone; an area at the center of the retina that is devoid of blood vessels. |
| HE | Hard exudates; HEs are distinct white/yellow cholesterol deposits resulting from active or resolved DME. |
| IOP | Intraocular pressure; fluid pressure inside the eye that, if elevated, could be a sign of glaucoma. |
| IRMA | Intraretinal microvascular abnormality; one of the defining features of severe NPDR (see definition below), IRMAs are abnormal branching or widened retinal blood vessels that supply areas of nonperfusion in DRD. |
| MA | Microaneurysm; an early sign of DRD, MAs are small-vessel aneurysms resulting from weakening of capillary walls. |
| NPDR | Nonproliferative diabetes-related retinal disease; the more common form of DRD, NPDR is a condition in which the walls of retinal blood vessels weaken and sometimes leak fluid and blood into the retina, but new blood vessels are not yet growing (proliferating) in response to this damage. It is subclassified as mild, moderate, and severe and can also cause DME (see definition above). |
| NVI | Neovascularization of the iris; NVI occurs when new blood vessels grow in response to retinal ischemia, is associated with PDR (see definition below), and may cause spontaneous hyphema and neovascular glaucoma. |
| NVD/NVE | Neovascularization of the disk or elsewhere in the retina; NVD/NVE occurs when new blood vessels grow in response to retinal ischemia, is associated with PDR (see definition below), and may cause spontaneous vitreous hemorrhage. |
| OCT | Optical coherence tomography; an imaging test that uses light waves to take cross-section pictures of the retinal, OCT allows ECPs to see and measure the distinctive layers of the retina to diagnose and guide treatment of DRD and glaucoma. |
| OCTA | Optical coherence tomography angiography; OCTA is an imaging technique that uses laser light reflectance of the surface of moving red blood cells to accurately depict retinal vessels without the use of dye. |
| PDR | Proliferative diabetes-related retinal disease; PDR is the most advanced stage of DRD, characterized by the growth of new, fragile blood vessels in the retina (neovascularization). |
| TRD | Tractional retinal detachment; TRD is the separation of the neurosensory retina from the retinal pigment epithelium resulting from the traction caused by proliferative membranes present over the retinal surface or vitreous. |
| UWF | Ultra-widefield; UWF imaging provides a 200° panoramic image of the retina, allowing ECPs to better visualize and evaluate retinal abnormalities. |
| VB | Venous beading; a late-stage finding in NPDR that represents weakened walls of major retinal vessels, VB is one of the strongest predictors for progression to PDR. |
| VH | Vitreous hemorrhage; VHs are caused by bleeding from fine neovascular blood vessels in the eye. |