Features of full field electroretinogram responses in children with early type 1 diabetes

Objective To observe the features of the full field electroretinogram (FF-ERG) in type 1 diabetes (T1D) children without diabetic retinopathy (DR). Methods Retrospective case study. Forty-one T1D children and 25 age-matched normal controls underwent a complete ophthalmic examination, including best-corrected visual acuity, refraction, intraocular pressure, slit lamp, fundus photography, indirect ophthalmoscopy, and spectral domain optical coherence tomography to exclude DR. All FF-ERG tests were performed by an experienced technician. The ERG series includes six protocols: dark-adapted 0.01 ERG (r-b 0.01); dark-adapted 3 ERG (mix-a 3.0, mix-b 3.0); dark-adapted 10 ERG (mix-a 10.0, mix-b 10.0); dark-adapted oscillatory potentials (OPS); light-adapted 3 ERG (c-a 3.0, c-b 3.0); light-adapted 30 Hz flicker (30 Hz FP) ERG. To compare the amplitudes and implicit times of the FF-ERG between the T1D and control group children. Results Compared with the control subjects , the FF-ERG amplitudes decreased and the implicit times increased in T1D. Except for r-b 0.01 (t=-0.228, P>0.05), the amplitudes of other FF-ERGs were all significantly attenuated (t=-1.664, -3.645, -4.324, -6.123, -5.846, -12.9, -14.4, -5.23; P 0.05). Conclusion The FF-ERG amplitudes decreased and implicit times increased in T1D children compared with the control normal subjects. Key words: Diabetes mellitus, type 1; Child; Electroretinography