Awareness about diabetic retinopathy among doctors not specialized in ophthalmology

Abstract

Introduction: Diabetic retinopathy is the most common microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus. Proper screening for diabetic retinopathy(DR) and appropriate management could prevent the occurrence of blindness. As doctors treating diabetes patients play a vital role in referring the patients to ophthalmologists for retinopathy screening, we decided to assess the level of awareness about DR. Methods and Materials: We conducted a cross-sectional study among doctors working in a tertiary care hospital with at least 2 years of experience. A set of questionnaire regarding DR was presented to participants to choose the answer of their choice. Analysis was done using SPSS software version 23. Results: Only 18.4% of them have referred all diabetic patients for retinopathy screening. Only 19 to 35% of participants were aware of the correct screening time for DR. 90 to 97% of the participants knew that DR is the most common microvascular complication of diabetes, and that it can even lead to blindness. 85 to 95 % of the participants were aware that both duration and level of glycemic control is associated with development of DR and glycemic control is the first step to prevent its progression. Conclusion: This study emphasizes the fact that awareness programs are necessary not only for diabetic patients, but also for the first contact health care professionals.

Keywords

• awareness
• diabetic retinopathy
• non-ophthalmologist
• screening