Imran Basit, Asem Hameed, Amjad Akram.
Frequency of diabetic retinopathy among dialysis patients and their awareness about the need for screening to prevent blindness.
Pak Armed Forces Med J Jan ;64(1):88-91.

Objective: To observe frequency and spectrum of diabetic retinopathy among patients undergoing haemodialysis and to assess the awareness of importance of ophthalmic screening among these patients. Study Design: Observational descriptive study. Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out at Combined Military Hospital Kharian, from August 2011 to January 2012. Patients and Methods: A total of 49 patients were included in the study who were under going maintenance hemodialysis during the observation period. All patients were examined with ophthalmoscope after mydriasis. Patients who were not willing, irritable or in coma were not included in the study. Results: A total of 49 patients (n=49) were examined with 26 males and 13 females. Age of patients with diabetic retinopathy ranged from 45 years to 68 years, mean age of patients was 57.5 years. Nineteen patient (38.7%) were suffering from diabetes mellitus. Four had been operated for cataract out of which only one was advised regular follow up for effect of diabetes on vision. Only one patient who was UK national was aware of the need and importance of regular eye examination to avoid preventable blindness and to monitor for end organ damage. Conclusion: These results indicate that hospital needs integrated diabetic clinics for patient awareness and management to prevent blindness due to diabetic retinopathy. In fact, Pakistan needs a national level retinopathy screening programme keeping in mind the increasing incidence of diabetes mellitus. National programme for retinopathy is doable as fundus cameras are widely available and can be operated by optometrists and integrated care protocols between different departments to avoid financial burden of care for diabetic geriatric patients.

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