Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: To evaluate the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy and demonstrate the frequency of non–diabetic ocular disorders discovered in a VA medical center screening clinic. Methods: Retrospective chart review was conducted of all patients seen during the fall of 2003. Patient charts were reviewed for the presence of any documented ocular abnormality, including diabetes and non–diabetes related problems. Results: A total of 473 patient charts were reviewed for the presence of documented diabetes and non–diabetes related disorders. Age ranged from 34–92 years, majority were male (97%). Of the patients screened, 97 (20.5%) had some degree of diabetic retinopathy; mild non–proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR)was seen in 88 patients (19%), severe NPDR was seen in 6 (0.8%),3 (0.6%) had proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Clinically significant macular edema was diagnosed in 10 patients (2%). The most frequently detected non–diabetic ocular abnormalities documented by the residents were asymmetric cup–disc ratio (18.4%) and cataracts (6.8%). Epimacular membrane, severe dry eye, primary ocular histoplasmosis, and choroidal nevus were detected in 3.2% of patients. Optic atrophy, pseudoexfoliation, degenerative retinoschisis, papilledema, pterygium, central retinal vein occlusion, ptosis, macular hole, cobblestone degeneration, eyelid papilloma, suspected amblyopia, choroidal neovascular membrane, or pseudophakic bullous keratopathy was present in one or more patients screened during the evaluation period. Conclusions: The detection of diabetic and non–diabetic ocular diseases in this VA population highlights the importance of diabetic screening.
Keywords: diabetes • diabetic retinopathy • detection