Abstract
AimTo assess current standards of diabetic retinopathy screening in primary care against the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines for type 2 diabetes mellitus. Moreover, to determine whether individuals with diabetes were screened for diabetic retinopathy no later than three months from referral to the local eye screening service and no later than one year from their last retinal screen.Materials and methodsA single-center, retrospective audit was undertaken at a small general practice. Data was collected from the health records of individuals placed on the type 2 diabetes register from 01/01/2013 to 01/01/2018. Individuals who were diagnosed with diabetes whilst registered at a different practice, who had pre-diabetic retinal screening or were referred onto a different screening pathway were excluded. A total of 50 records were audited and data collection involved demographics, dates individuals were placed on the diabetes register and dates of attendance and non-attendance to screening.Results16.0% of individuals with type 2 diabetes underwent retinal screening which adhered to the NICE guidelines. Of the cohort which did not adhere, 59.5% experienced an interval greater than three months between diagnosis and first retinal screening and 64.3% experienced a screening interval greater than one year.ConclusionsDiabetic retinopathy screening of individuals must be improved to meet the NICE standards. Interventions should be implemented to increase the awareness within general practitioners and practice nurses to ensure all people with diabetes receive their first retinal screen within the first three months of diagnosis with regular annual screening thereafter.
Highlights
Diabetic retinopathy, a common complication of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus, is the single largest cause of blindness before old age
Interventions should be implemented to increase the awareness within general practitioners and practice nurses to ensure all people with diabetes receive their first retinal screen within the first three months of diagnosis with regular annual screening thereafter
We investigated whether people with diabetes had undergone retinal screening no later than a year from their most previous screen
Summary
A common complication of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus, is the single largest cause of blindness before old age. Diabetic Eye Screening, a national screening program introduced in 2003, was initiated with the aims of reducing the risk of sight loss through early detection and treatment, where necessary, of sight-threatening retinopathy. This was achieved through examination of the retina via mydriatic digital photography and is offered to all people with diabetes aged 12 years and over. In 2015-16, the annual uptake of the program was 82.8% [1]
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