Abstract
Purpose :
Diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of vision loss among adults in the United States. Prior studies have studied teleretinal screening for diabetic retinopathy within mostly white patient populations. We performed a retrospective, observational study of the Teleretinal Imaging Program (TRIP) on a majority Hispanic patient population within the University of New Mexico Health (UNMH) System.
Methods :
TRIP data were analyzed including number of screenings, patient demographics, rate of any stage diabetic retinopathy (DR), referrable DR, and all referrable disease. We compared the rate of DR screening at UNMH primary care clinics with and without TRIP during data collection period using paired t-test.
Results :
2,001 TRIP screenings were completed during January 2014-October 2022. 1,019 (51%) patients were female and 1,000 (50%) were older than 65. The self-identified race of patients were Latin Americans/Hispanics (1,277, 64%), Caucasians (260, 13%), African Americans (48, 2%), Native American/Alaskan Native (34, 2%), and Asian Pacific/Pacific Islander (30, 2%). 628 (31%) exams showed any stage diabetic retinopathy. 400 (20%) exams resulted in referral; diagnoses included diabetic retinopathy (145, 7%), cataract (129, 6%), glaucoma suspect (94, 4%), macular edema (69, 3%), and vein occlusion (7, <1%). From 2017-2019, TRIP screened 300-500 patients annually (Figure 1). At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, TRIP screening volume reduced 90%. In 2022, screening volume resumed pre-COVID levels. From 2019 to 2022, rates of DR screening were significantly higher in primary care clinics with TRIP than without TRIP at all time points (all years, p <0.0001, Figure 2).
Conclusions :
20% of TRIP exams resulted in referral, suggesting it may play a significant role in disease detection in this majority Hispanic population. Primary care clinics with TRIP showed higher rates of DR screening compared to clinics without TRIP during every time period since data collection began, suggesting that TRIP improved DR screening rates for UNMH primary care clinic patients.
This abstract was presented at the 2023 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in New Orleans, LA, April 23-27, 2023.