Abstract
Purpose:
To characterize the population of diabetics referred to the Ophthalmology Department of the Centro Hospitalar do Porto (CHP) from the screening program of ARS Norte, to evaluate this type of screening method and to perceive the its impact in the dynamic of an Ophthalmology Department.
Methods:
Retrospective evaluation of the clinical processes of diabetic patients referred to the CHP Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) Screening Consultation from the ARS Norte screening program, between January 2012 and December 2016. The variables analyzed were demographic data, duration and type of Diabetes Mellitus (DM), previous follow-up in ophthalmology consultation, type of diabetic retinopathy and subsequent orientation.
Results:
Of the 613 diabetic patients observed in our Department referred from this program, 2.6% had type 1 DM and 97.4% had type 2 DM, with a mean illness duration of 15.8 years. 6.6% had no lesions of DR in any of the eyes. Non-proliferative DR lesions were present in 90.7% of the patients, being bilateral in 83.7% of the cases and 2.7% had proliferative DR lesions in both eyes. At the time of the consultation, 31.9% had maculopathy in at least 1 of the eyes. 51.1% of the patients had indication for treatment at the time of the referral. 15.2% were integrated in ocular diabetes section of CHP due to the need for surveillance and 33.7% were discharged to reintegrate this screening program.
Conclusions:
The DR screening program is a useful and necessary tool for the early diagnosis and early treatment of DR lesions.
Keywords:
Diabetes; Diabetic retinopathy; Screening; Retinography; Portugal
