Laser Focused: empowering rural communities with advanced DMO therapies

Regular intravitreal antiVEGF injections are a vision sparing treatment for arresting the progression of diabetic macular oedema (DMO), safeguarding vision. However, particularly poor compliance has been reported amongst rural and remote Australians, attributable to various factors including financial constraints, geographical distances, occupational commitments, and procedural anxieties. Unlike conventional laser therapy (CLT), Subthreshold micropulse laser (SML) is a non-scarring adjunct to treatment with antiVEGF injections which has been shown to reduce the number of antiVEGF injections required . Encouragingly, SML treatment exhibits greater efficacy in rural and remote contexts compared with urban settings. We perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to show SML may serve as a useful adjunct to antiVEGF injection, particularly in the rural setting where a reduction in IVI burden could significantly improve compliance and preserve vision.