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Should kidney investigations be carried out in cases of retinal emboli?

Medicine, Nursing, Optometry

The occurrence of retinal emboli in three major Asian ethnicities was studied, with results published in JAMA Ophthalmology recently. The study was conducted via gradable retinal photographs from 9978 Singaporean individuals between the ages of 40 and 80, who were of Chinese, Malay and Indian backgrounds.

Findings revealed that the prevalence of retinal emboli in these ethnicities in Singapore was 0.75%. The data was collected from 2004 – 2011 and analyzed from November 2016 to February 2017.

In depth analysis of the retinal photographs of both eyes of the participants using a standardized protocol revealed, that the prevalence of retinal emboli in these ethnicities in Singapore was 0.75%. Out of all the retinal photographs studied, 88 cases of retinal emboli were found, with the highest prevalence in the Indian cohorts (0.98%), followed by the Chinese (0.73%) and Malay (0.44%) cohorts.

Factors involved with a higher rate of retinal emboli were:kidney investigations for retinal emboli

  • older age
  • Indian ethnicity
  • hypertension
  • chronic kidney disease
  • creatinine level (per SD increase)
  • glomerular filtration rate (per SD increase)
  • history of stroke

In conclusion, retinal emboli were most commonly seen in Indians and were mostly associated with conventional cardiovascular risk factors, stroke, and chronic kidney disease. If continued studies confirm these findings, persons with retinal emboli may require both general cardiovascular and renal assessment to avoid vascular embolic events, brain damage, and kidney problems.

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