TY - JOUR
T1 - Quality-assured screening for diabetic retinopathy delivered in primary care in Ireland
T2 - An observational study
AU - McHugh, Sheena
AU - Buckley, Claire
AU - Murphy, Katie
AU - Doherty, Sue
AU - O'Keeffe, Gabrielle
AU - Alade, Joseph
AU - Keane, Elizabeth
AU - James, Mark
AU - Coughlan, Ciaran
AU - Traynor, John
AU - Bradley, Colin P.
AU - Perry, Ivan J.
AU - Moran, Joe
AU - Quinlan, Diarmuid
PY - 2013/2
Y1 - 2013/2
N2 - Background: At present, there is no national population-based retinopathy screening programme for people in Ireland who have diabetes, such as those operating in the UK for over a decade. Aim: To evaluate a community-based initiative that utilised existing resources in general practice and community optometry/ophthalmology services to provide screening for diabetic retinopathy. Design and setting: Cross-sectional study using electronic ophthalmic patient screening records in community optometry clinics in Cork, Ireland. Method: A purposive sample of 32 practices was recruited from Diabetes in General Practice, a general practice-led initiative in the South of Ireland. Practices invited all adult patients registered with diabetes to participate in free retinopathy screening (n = 3598), provided by 15 community optometry practices and two community ophthalmologists. Data were recorded on an electronic database used by optometrists and the performance was benchmarked against proposed national standards for retinopathy screening. Results: In total, 30 practices participated (94%). After 6 months, 49% of patients (n = 1763) had been screened, following one invitation letter and no reminder. Forty-three per cent of those invited consented to their data being used in the study and subsequent analyses are based on that sample (n = 1542). The mean age of the patients screened was 65 years (standard deviation = 13.0 years), 57% were male (n = 884), and 86% had type 2 diabetes (n = 1320). In total, 26% had some level of retinopathy detected (n = 395);21% had background retinopathy (n = 331), 3% had preproliferative retinopathy (n = 53), and 0.7% had proliferative retinopathy (n = 11). Conclusion: The detection of retinopathy among 26% of those screened highlights the need for a national retinopathy screening programme in Ireland. Significant learning, derived from the implementation of this initiative, will inform the national programme.
AB - Background: At present, there is no national population-based retinopathy screening programme for people in Ireland who have diabetes, such as those operating in the UK for over a decade. Aim: To evaluate a community-based initiative that utilised existing resources in general practice and community optometry/ophthalmology services to provide screening for diabetic retinopathy. Design and setting: Cross-sectional study using electronic ophthalmic patient screening records in community optometry clinics in Cork, Ireland. Method: A purposive sample of 32 practices was recruited from Diabetes in General Practice, a general practice-led initiative in the South of Ireland. Practices invited all adult patients registered with diabetes to participate in free retinopathy screening (n = 3598), provided by 15 community optometry practices and two community ophthalmologists. Data were recorded on an electronic database used by optometrists and the performance was benchmarked against proposed national standards for retinopathy screening. Results: In total, 30 practices participated (94%). After 6 months, 49% of patients (n = 1763) had been screened, following one invitation letter and no reminder. Forty-three per cent of those invited consented to their data being used in the study and subsequent analyses are based on that sample (n = 1542). The mean age of the patients screened was 65 years (standard deviation = 13.0 years), 57% were male (n = 884), and 86% had type 2 diabetes (n = 1320). In total, 26% had some level of retinopathy detected (n = 395);21% had background retinopathy (n = 331), 3% had preproliferative retinopathy (n = 53), and 0.7% had proliferative retinopathy (n = 11). Conclusion: The detection of retinopathy among 26% of those screened highlights the need for a national retinopathy screening programme in Ireland. Significant learning, derived from the implementation of this initiative, will inform the national programme.
KW - Diabetic retinopathy
KW - General practice
KW - Optometry
KW - Primary care
KW - Quality assurance
KW - Screening
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/84873162505
U2 - 10.3399/bjgp13X663091
DO - 10.3399/bjgp13X663091
M3 - Article
C2 - 23561692
AN - SCOPUS:84873162505
SN - 0960-1643
VL - 63
SP - e134-e140
JO - British Journal of General Practice
JF - British Journal of General Practice
IS - 607
ER -
