Teleretinal screening for diabetic retinopathy in six Los Angeles urban safety-net clinics: initial findings

Diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of blindness in US adults. This paper presents initial results of a teleretinal screening project for diabetic retinopathy involving six Los Angeles safety net clinics. A total of 1,943 patients have been screened for diabetic retinopathy by three ophthalmolog...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:AMIA ... Annual Symposium proceedings 2011, Vol.2011, p.1027-1035
Main Authors: Ogunyemi, Omolola, Terrien, Elizabeth, Eccles, Alicia, Patty, Lauren, George, Sheba, Fish, Allison, Teklehaimanot, Senait, Ilapakurthi, Ramarao, Aimiuwu, Otaren, Baker, Richard
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Ambulatory Care Facilities
Community Health Services
Diabetic Retinopathy - diagnosis
Humans
Los Angeles
Mass Screening - methods
Photography - methods
Primary Health Care
Referral and Consultation - statistics & numerical data
Retina - pathology
Retinoscopy
Telemedicine
Urban Population
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of blindness in US adults. This paper presents initial results of a teleretinal screening project for diabetic retinopathy involving six Los Angeles safety net clinics. A total of 1,943 patients have been screened for diabetic retinopathy by three ophthalmologist readers, with 416 receiving a recommendation for referral to specialty care. Of the cases recommended for referral, 24 had proliferative diabetic retinopathy, 62 had severe non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR), 60 had moderate NPDR, 19 had mild NPDR, 138 had a non-diabetic condition, such as glaucoma, 63 had clinically significant macular edema without retinopathy and 50 had non-gradable images. Between 3% and 12.2% of retinal images taken at the clinics were assessed by readers as inadequate for any interpretation. The study shows the feasibility and challenges of teleretinal screening for diabetic retinopathy in urban areas facing specialist shortages and an overburdened, under-resourced safety net care-delivery system.
ISSN:1559-4076