Abstract
Purpose: :
The goal of our study is to validate the use of a questionnaire as a tool for a larger study investigating genetic markers of diabetic retinopathy. The Genetics of Kidneys in Diabetes (GoKinD) Study contains a large cohort of approximately 3,000 patients. In addition to information regarding their kidney disease, these patients were asked if they had ever received laser treatment for their diabetic eye disease in lieu of an ocular examination or patient medical record review. In our study, we investigate how accurate the questionnaire will be in estimating the existence of diabetic retinopathy. If the replies to the patient questionnaire accurately correspond to the level of disease and treatment, we hope to analyze the GoKinD cohort for genetic markers of diabetic retinopathy in a future study.
Methods: :
We randomly selected 100 patients with diabetes in the general eye clinic and retina clinic at the University of Chicago Hospitals. The patients were asked: "Have you ever received laser treatment for your diabetic eye disease?" The results were stored in a database. We conducted a chart review, noting if the patient had received laser for diabetes, either focal laser treatment for diabetic macular edema or pan-retinal photocoagulation for proliferative diabetic retinopathy. We also recorded if the patient had received laser for another condition, for example peripheral iridotomy, posterior capsulotomy, or barricade laser retinopexy.
Results: :
97 of 100 patients were accurate in reporting whether or not they had received previous diabetic laser treatment. 25 patients had previously received either focal laser treatment, pan-retinal photocoagulation, or both. 24 of the 25 (96%) of the patients who received diabetic laser treatment answered correctly. The one patient who was incorrect had previously received focal laser treatment. 73 of the 75 (97%) of the patients who did not receive laser treatment were accurate in their reporting. One of the patients had a peripheral iridotomy and the other had a posterior capsulotomy.
Conclusions: :
Our study of patients with diabetes validates the questionnaire given to the GoKinD cohort as a useful tool in assessing previous treatment of diabetic eye disease. The questionnaire is a good metric to separate those patients with and without severe diabetic eye disease requiring treatment. We can use the questionnaire to screen a large number of patients with diabetic retinopathy in an inexpensive, efficient, and non-invasive manner. We hope to analyze the GoKinD cohort for genetic markers of diabetic retinopathy in a future study.
Keywords: clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: risk factor assessment • diabetic retinopathy • gene screening