Evidence mapPaperPMID 40534817Full record

ArticleInternational journal of ophthalmology2025

Association between findings in nailfold capillaroscopy and diabetic retinopathy: a systematic review and Meta-analysis.

Qi Yan, Shi-Si Chen, Xi-Ting Lu, Hao Chen, Chao-Ying Han, Hui-Qun Wu, Li-Li Shi

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Article in International journal of ophthalmology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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5 · Who and what money

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7 authors.

Qi YanMedical School, Nantong University, Nantong 226001, Jiangsu Province, China.
Shi-Si ChenMedical School, Nantong University, Nantong 226001, Jiangsu Province, China.
Xi-Ting LuDepartment of Ophthalmology, Suzhou Municipal Hospital, Suzhou 215000, Jiangsu Province, China.
Hao ChenMedical School, Nantong University, Nantong 226001, Jiangsu Province, China.
Chao-Ying HanMedical School, Nantong University, Nantong 226001, Jiangsu Province, China.
Hui-Qun WuMedical School, Nantong University, Nantong 226001, Jiangsu Province, China.
Li-Li ShiMedical School, Nantong University, Nantong 226001, Jiangsu Province, China.

Funding

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6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimTo systematically evaluate the association between nailfold capillaroscopic findings and diabetic retinopathy (DR) and compare findings in diabetic patients with and without DR.

methodsPubMed, Web of Science, and Embase databases were searched from inception to February 2024. The quality of the included studies was evaluated using a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Quality Assessment tool for Observational Cohort and Cross Sectional Studies. Meta-analysis was conducted to compare the findings of nailfold capillaroscopy between diabetic patients with or without DR. Subgroup analysis was employed to investigate the source of heterogeneity.

resultsTotally 12 studies with 1349 diabetic patients were included, of which 628 had DR. The overall quality of included studies was acceptable. Patients with DR had increased arteriolar diameters [mean difference (MD): 2.68, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.64-4.72] and a higher risk of developing nailfold capillaroscopic abnormalities, including bushy capillaries [odds ratio (OR): 2.82, 95%CI: 1.65-4.80], neoformation (OR: 4.61, 95%CI: 3.15-6.76), megacapillaries (OR: 8.37, 95%CI: 5.07-13.80), tortuosity (OR: 7.29, 95%CI: 2.76-19.22), microhemorrhages (OR: 6.16, 95%CI: 2.48-15.26), meandering capillaries (OR: 4.68, 95%CI: 1.05-20.80) and avascular areas (OR: 7.92, 95%CI: 2.68-23.38). The presence of tortuous capillary was more common in DR in India than in Turkey, while avascular area in the nailfolds was linked to DR only in India (OR: 11.28, 95%CI: 3.91-32.60). Among the nailfold capillaroscopic abnormalities, tortuosity, microhemorrhage, and meandering capillary showed no significant correlation with the severity of DR, except for avascular area (

conclusionThere are significant associations between nailfold capillaroscopic findings and the presence of DR, supporting its potential as a non-invasive technique for monitoring microvascular changes in diabetic patients. However, further research is needed to validate its utility as an early screening tool for microvascular complications in diabetes.

Indexed as

diabetes mellitusdiabetic retinopathymicrovascular changesnailfold capillaroscopy

Identifiers

PMID40534817
PMCPMC12120462

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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 Socratic graph.