Table 4.

Screening and follow-up guidelines for people with and without diabetic retinopathy

Status of retinopathy	Referral to ophthalmologist	Follow-up	Recommended ocular treatment
No Diabetic Retinopathy (DR)	Within 1 year	Every 1-2 years	None
Mild Non-Proliferative DR (NPDR)	Within 1 year	Every year	None
Moderate NPDR	Within 3-6 months	Every 6 months	None
Severe NPDR	Immediate	Every 3 months	Can consider pan-retinal photocoagulation (PRP) under specific circumstances
Proliferative DR	Immediate	Every 3 months	Panretinal photocoagulation (PRP) and/or intravitreal anti-VEGF* therapy, especially if HRCs† are present
No Diabetic macular edema (DME)	Within 1 year	Every year	None
Non-CiDME (non-center involving DME)	Immediate	Every 3 months	Focal laser photocoagulation, and observe carefully for progression to CiDME
Centre involving DME (CiDME)	Immediate	Every 1-2 months	Anti-VEGF as first-line therapy. Consider focal macular laser as an rescue therapy in eyes with persistent CiDME despite anti-VEGF. Intravitreal steroids can be used as an alternative in pseudophakic eyes or in select cases if anti-VEGF is contraindicated (like recent MI or CVA)

*VEGF- Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor. ^†HRC-High Risk Characteristics