Skip to main content
PMC home page
The British Journal of Ophthalmology logoLink to The British Journal of Ophthalmology
. 1994 Oct;78(10):741–744. doi: 10.1136/bjo.78.10.741

Loss of vision before ophthalmic referral in blind and partially sighted diabetics in Bristol.

J B Clark 1, R H Grey 1, K K Lim 1, C J Burns-Cox 1
PMCID: PMC504925  PMID: 7803348

Abstract

Data from all patients registered blind from diabetic retinopathy in Avon during a 16 month period were analysed with regard to management before hospital referral. The main findings were: 50% of the patients had no screening for retinopathy and were known to be diabetic; 25% were regularly screened for retinopathy (three quarters by local opticians); 22% were newly diagnosed as diabetic at the time of hospital referral. The degree of visual loss at the time of first hospital attendance was found to be marked (average 4.4 Snellen lines of acuity) but was not significantly different for different sources of referral. Only one eye of one patient had normal acuity at first attendance and 88% had lost two or more lines; 72% of registrations were a result of diabetic maculopathy. Delay from waiting for hospital appointments did not contribute significantly to the outcome in the group of patients studied.

Full text

PDF

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Buxton M. J., Sculpher M. J., Ferguson B. A., Humphreys J. E., Altman J. F., Spiegelhalter D. J., Kirby A. J., Jacob J. S., Bacon H., Dudbridge S. B. Screening for treatable diabetic retinopathy: a comparison of different methods. Diabet Med. 1991 May;8(4):371–377. doi: 10.1111/j.1464-5491.1991.tb01612.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Cheng H. Response of proliferative diabetic retinopathy to xenon-arc photocoagulation. A multicentre randomized controlled trial. Second interim report. Trans Ophthalmol Soc U K. 1976 Jul;96(2):224–227. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Grey R. H., Burns-Cox C. J., Hughes A. Blind and partial sight registration in Avon. Br J Ophthalmol. 1989 Feb;73(2):88–94. doi: 10.1136/bjo.73.2.88. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Grey R. H., Morris A. Ophthalmic survey of a diabetic clinic: II. Requirements for treatment of retinopathy. Br J Ophthalmol. 1986 Nov;70(11):804–807. doi: 10.1136/bjo.70.11.804. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Grey R. H. The treatment of diabetic maculopathy by argon laser photocoagulation. Trans Ophthalmol Soc U K. 1986;105(Pt 4):424–429. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Hercules B. L., Gayed I. I., Lucas S. B., Jeacock J. Peripheral retinal ablation in the treatment of proliferative diabetic retinopathy: a three-year interim report of a randomised, controlled study using the argon laser. Br J Ophthalmol. 1977 Sep;61(9):555–563. doi: 10.1136/bjo.61.9.555. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Holladay J. T., Prager T. C. Mean visual acuity. Am J Ophthalmol. 1991 Mar 15;111(3):372–374. doi: 10.1016/s0002-9394(14)72328-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Jones D., Dolben J., Owens D. R., Vora J. P., Young S., Creagh F. M. Non-mydriatic Polaroid photography in screening for diabetic retinopathy: evaluation in a clinical setting. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1988 Apr 9;296(6628):1029–1030. doi: 10.1136/bmj.296.6628.1029. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Reeser F., Fleischman J., Williams G. A., Goldman A. Efficacy of argon laser photocoagulation in the treatment of circinate diabetic retinopathy. Am J Ophthalmol. 1981 Dec;92(6):762–767. doi: 10.1016/s0002-9394(14)75626-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Rohan T. E., Frost C. D., Wald N. J. Prevention of blindness by screening for diabetic retinopathy: a quantitative assessment. BMJ. 1989 Nov 11;299(6709):1198–1201. doi: 10.1136/bmj.299.6709.1198. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Rosner B. Statistical methods in ophthalmology: an adjustment for the intraclass correlation between eyes. Biometrics. 1982 Mar;38(1):105–114. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Stenkula S. Photocoagulation in diabetic retinopathy. A multicentre study in Sweden. Acta Ophthalmol Suppl. 1984;162:1–100. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Taylor R., Lovelock L., Tunbridge W. M., Alberti K. G., Brackenridge R. G., Stephenson P., Young E. Comparison of non-mydriatic retinal photography with ophthalmoscopy in 2159 patients: mobile retinal camera study. BMJ. 1990 Dec 1;301(6763):1243–1247. doi: 10.1136/bmj.301.6763.1243. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Townsend C., Bailey J., Kohner E. Xenon arc photocoagulation for the treatment of diabetic maculopathy. Interim report of a multicentre controlled clinical study. Br J Ophthalmol. 1980 Jun;64(6):385–391. doi: 10.1136/bjo.64.6.385. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Williams R., Nussey S., Humphry R., Thompson G. Assessment of non-mydriatic fundus photography in detection of diabetic retinopathy. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1986 Nov 1;293(6555):1140–1142. doi: 10.1136/bmj.293.6555.1140. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The British Journal of Ophthalmology are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES