Teleophthalmology: a strategy for timely diagnosis of sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy in primary care, Concepción, Chile
AIM: To estimate the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in a diabetic population of the public health system. METHODS: This non-experimental, descriptive and cross-sectional study, with no direct control over the variables analysed, was carried out by the Telemedicine Unit of the University of...
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doaj-0ad1b212161a46df936fb6c10744e3572020-11-25T01:42:14ZengPress of International Journal of Ophthalmology (IJO PRESS)International Journal of Ophthalmology2222-39592227-48982019-09-011291474147810.18240/ijo.2019.09.16Teleophthalmology: a strategy for timely diagnosis of sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy in primary care, Concepción, ChileAngélica Avendaño-Veloso0Felipe Parada-Hernández1Raúl González-Ramos2Camila Dougnac-Osses3José Luis Carrasco-Sáez4Peter Henry Scanlon5Telemedicine Unit, University of Concepción, Concepción, 4070386, ChileTelemedicine Unit, University of Concepción, Concepción, 4070386, ChileSchool of Medicine, University of Concepción, Concepción, 4070386, ChileSchool of Medicine, University of Concepción, Concepción, 4070386, ChileTelemedicine Unit, University of Concepción, Concepción, 4070386, ChileUniversity of Oxford, University of Gloucestershire, Oxford, OX1 2JD, England, UKAIM: To estimate the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in a diabetic population of the public health system. METHODS: This non-experimental, descriptive and cross-sectional study, with no direct control over the variables analysed, was carried out by the Telemedicine Unit of the University of Concepción (TELMED) and the Family Health Centers (CESFAM) of the Health Service Concepción, Chile, among a population of 7382 diabetic patients of the public health system, from October 2014 to June 2015. Two digital images for each patient’s eyes were obtained and uploaded to the TELMED tele-ophthalmology platform. The images were remotely evaluated by a retina expert ophthalmologist for diagnosis. Treatment and a referral (if required) were recommended, and an individualised report for each patient was sent to the place of origin. RESULTS: The prevalence of DR in this study was 14.9%. Of these, 48.7% had mild non-proliferative DR (NPDR), 30.8% moderate NPDR, 15.9% severe NPDR, and 4.6% proliferative DR. Of the patients with DR, 17.8% were referred for fluorescein angiography, 4.3% for panretinal photocoagulation, 1.2% for vitrectomy, and 0.4% for cataract surgery. CONCLUSION: The use of telemedicine allowed an increased screening coverage for DR in diabetic patients. The different types of DR were detected in a timely manner, decreasing waiting times due to the lack of specialists in ophthalmology in the public health system.http://www.ijo.cn/en_publish/2019/9/20190916.pdfophthalmologyteleophthalmologydiabetes mellitusdiabetic retinopathytelemedicine |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Angélica Avendaño-Veloso Felipe Parada-Hernández Raúl González-Ramos Camila Dougnac-Osses José Luis Carrasco-Sáez Peter Henry Scanlon |
spellingShingle |
Angélica Avendaño-Veloso Felipe Parada-Hernández Raúl González-Ramos Camila Dougnac-Osses José Luis Carrasco-Sáez Peter Henry Scanlon Teleophthalmology: a strategy for timely diagnosis of sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy in primary care, Concepción, Chile International Journal of Ophthalmology ophthalmology teleophthalmology diabetes mellitus diabetic retinopathy telemedicine |
author_facet |
Angélica Avendaño-Veloso Felipe Parada-Hernández Raúl González-Ramos Camila Dougnac-Osses José Luis Carrasco-Sáez Peter Henry Scanlon |
author_sort |
Angélica Avendaño-Veloso |
title |
Teleophthalmology: a strategy for timely diagnosis of sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy in primary care, Concepción, Chile |
title_short |
Teleophthalmology: a strategy for timely diagnosis of sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy in primary care, Concepción, Chile |
title_full |
Teleophthalmology: a strategy for timely diagnosis of sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy in primary care, Concepción, Chile |
title_fullStr |
Teleophthalmology: a strategy for timely diagnosis of sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy in primary care, Concepción, Chile |
title_full_unstemmed |
Teleophthalmology: a strategy for timely diagnosis of sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy in primary care, Concepción, Chile |
title_sort |
teleophthalmology: a strategy for timely diagnosis of sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy in primary care, concepción, chile |
publisher |
Press of International Journal of Ophthalmology (IJO PRESS) |
series |
International Journal of Ophthalmology |
issn |
2222-3959 2227-4898 |
publishDate |
2019-09-01 |
description |
AIM: To estimate the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in a diabetic population of the public health system.
METHODS: This non-experimental, descriptive and cross-sectional study, with no direct control over the variables analysed, was carried out by the Telemedicine Unit of the University of Concepción (TELMED) and the Family Health Centers (CESFAM) of the Health Service Concepción, Chile, among a population of 7382 diabetic patients of the public health system, from October 2014 to June 2015. Two digital images for each patient’s eyes were obtained and uploaded to the TELMED tele-ophthalmology platform. The images were remotely evaluated by a retina expert ophthalmologist for diagnosis. Treatment and a referral (if required) were recommended, and an individualised report for each patient was sent to the place of origin.
RESULTS: The prevalence of DR in this study was 14.9%. Of these, 48.7% had mild non-proliferative DR (NPDR), 30.8% moderate NPDR, 15.9% severe NPDR, and 4.6% proliferative DR. Of the patients with DR, 17.8% were referred for fluorescein angiography, 4.3% for panretinal photocoagulation, 1.2% for vitrectomy, and 0.4% for cataract surgery.
CONCLUSION: The use of telemedicine allowed an increased screening coverage for DR in diabetic patients. The different types of DR were detected in a timely manner, decreasing waiting times due to the lack of specialists in ophthalmology in the public health system. |
topic |
ophthalmology teleophthalmology diabetes mellitus diabetic retinopathy telemedicine |
url |
http://www.ijo.cn/en_publish/2019/9/20190916.pdf |
work_keys_str_mv |
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