scholarly journals Diabetic retinopathy and retinal screening awareness amongst female diabetic patients at a day hospital diabetic clinic in Cape Town, South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nomfundo F. Mkhombe ◽  
Peter Clarke-Farr
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Diabetic Retinopathy ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
Diabetic Patients ◽  
Day Hospital ◽  
Diabetic Clinic ◽  
Retinal Screening

scholarly journals A 15 Month Experience with a Primary Care-based Telemedicine Screening Program for Diabetic Retinopathy.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Benjamin ◽  
Justin Sun ◽  
Devon Cohen ◽  
Joseph Matz ◽  
Angela Barbera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Diabetic Retinopathy ◽  
Screening Program ◽  
Primary Care Clinic ◽  
University Hospital ◽  
Eye Disease ◽  
Diabetic Patients ◽  
Close Monitoring ◽  
Care Clinic ◽  
Retinal Screening

Abstract Background: Using telemedicine for diabetic retinal screening is becoming popular especially amongst at-risk urban communities with poor access to care. The goal of the diabetic telemedicine project at Temple University Hospital is to improve cost-effective access to appropriate retinal care to those in need of close monitoring and/or treatment.Methods: This will be a retrospective review of 15 months of data from March 2016 to May 2017. We will investigate how many patients were screened, how interpretable the photographs were, how often the photographs generated a diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy (DR) based on the screening photo, and how many patients followed-up for an exam in the office, if indicated.Results: Six-hundred eighty-nine (689) digital retinal screening exams on 1377 eyes of diabetic patients were conducted in Temple’s primary care clinic. The majority of the photographs were read to have no retinopathy (755, 54.8%). Among all of the screening exams, 357 (51.8%) triggered a request for a referral to ophthalmology. Four-hundred forty-nine (449, 32.6%) of the photos were felt to be uninterpretable by the clinician. Referrals were meant to be requested for DR found in one or both eyes, inability to assess presence of retinopathy in one or both eyes, or for suspicion of a different ophthalmic diagnosis. Sixty-seven patients (9.7%) were suspected to have another ophthalmic condition based on other findings in the retinal photographs. Among the 34 patients that were successfully completed a referral visit to Temple ophthalmology, there was good concordance between the level of DR detected by their screening fundus photographs and visit diagnosis.Conclusions: Although a little more than half of the patients did not have diabetic eye disease, about half needed a referral to ophthalmology. However, only 9.5% of the referral-warranted exams actually received an eye exam. Mere identification of referral-warranted diabetic retinopathy or other eye disease is not enough. A successful telemedicine screening program must close the communication gap between screening and diagnosis by reviewer to provide timely follow-up by eye care specialists.

scholarly journals Exploring Factors Associated with Diabetic Retinopathy Treatment Compliance Behaviour in Cape Town, South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (22) ◽  
pp. 12209
Author(s):  
Annalie Wentzel ◽  
Zandile June-Rose Mchiza
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Diabetic Retinopathy ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
Treatment Compliance ◽  
Public Health Care ◽  
Public Health Care System ◽  
Key Informants ◽  
Factors Associated

Complete patient adherence to treatment for diabetic retinopathy (DR) is critical to limit vision loss. There is a dearth of evidence regarding the reasons why South African patients referred for suspected vision-threatening DR stay compliant to or default their treatment. The current study sought to explore factors associated with treatment compliance among patients living with diabetes who have been referred for suspected vision-threatening DR in the Northern/Tygerberg sub-Structure (NTSS) public health care system of Cape Town, South Africa. A qualitative research approach was used where semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 13 adult patients living with DR, and 2 key informants who are primary eye care providers. Thematic data analysis was conducted using taguette.org. Fear of going blind was the most notable patient-related factor associated with compliance. Notable patient-related barriers reported were forgetfulness and a poor state of health. Notable institution-related barriers included suboptimal information received from health care service providers, poor referral management by the organisation delivering retinal screening services, as well as the inaccessibility of the main NTSS hospital via telephone calls. All these factors were confirmed by the key informants of the current study. Finally, all patients and key informants agreed that SARS-CoV-2 negatively affected patients’ adherence to their DR treatment. Hence, scaling up of health care, referral, and appointment setting services could increase the uptake of treatment and retinal screenings among patients attending the Cape Town, NTSS public health care system.

scholarly journals A Deep Learning Neural Network for Detecting the Diabetic Retinopathy

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 3522-3525
Keyword(s):  
Neural Network ◽  
Machine Learning ◽  
Diabetic Retinopathy ◽  
Deep Learning ◽  
Diabetic Patients ◽  
Retinal Screening ◽  
Deep Learning Neural Network

Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) is the leading cause of disease to blindness of people globally. The retinal screening examinations of diabetic patients is needed to prevent the disease. There are many untreated and undiagnosed cases present in especially in India. DR requires smart technique to detect it. In this paper, we proposed a deep learning based architecture for detecting the DR. The experiments are done on the DR Dataset available in UCI machine Learning Repository. The results obtained from the experiments are satisfactory.

scholarly journals Fundus Camera Imaging and Mobile Phone Opthalmoscopy for Identification of Diabetic Retinopathy

2020 ◽  
pp. 28-32
Keyword(s):  
Diabetic Retinopathy ◽  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Light Emitting Diode ◽  
Large Field ◽  
Diabetic Patients ◽  
Light Emitting ◽  
Fundus Camera ◽  
Fundus Imaging ◽  
Retinal Screening ◽  
Indirect Ophthalmoscope

Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) is the retinal abnormalities arise on diabetic patients. Initial retinal screening is the super approach to prevent from diabetic retinopathy. Fundus imaging with good quality and large field is a popular method for DR identification and prevention. In this paper two fundus imaging methods are simulated. The first method is based on fundus camera which is used in the hospital to capture the retina image and In the second method Mobile phone with good camera quality, light-emitting diode (LED) and 28D lens and is used as an indirect ophthalmoscope. The results are shown and compared in terms of precision, recall and accuracy.

scholarly journals A 15 month experience with a primary care-based telemedicine screening program for diabetic retinopathy

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
James E. Benjamin ◽  
Justin Sun ◽  
Devin Cohen ◽  
Joseph Matz ◽  
Angela Barbera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Diabetic Retinopathy ◽  
Screening Program ◽  
Primary Care Clinic ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
University Hospital ◽  
Diabetic Patients ◽  
Close Monitoring ◽  
Care Clinic ◽  
Retinal Screening

Abstract Background Using telemedicine for diabetic retinal screening is becoming popular especially amongst at-risk urban communities with poor access to care. The goal of the diabetic telemedicine project at Temple University Hospital is to improve cost-effective access to appropriate retinal care to those in need of close monitoring and/or treatment. Methods This will be a retrospective review of 15 months of data from March 2016 to May 2017. We will investigate how many patients were screened, how interpretable the photographs were, how often the photographs generated a diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy (DR) based on the screening photo, and how many patients followed-up for an exam in the office, if indicated. Results Six-hundred eighty-nine (689) digital retinal screening exams on 1377 eyes of diabetic patients were conducted in Temple’s primary care clinic. The majority of the photographs were read to have no retinopathy (755, 54.8%). Among all of the screening exams, 357 (51.8%) triggered a request for a referral to ophthalmology. Four-hundred forty-nine (449, 32.6%) of the photos were felt to be uninterpretable by the clinician. Referrals were meant to be requested for DR found in one or both eyes, inability to assess presence of retinopathy in one or both eyes, or for suspicion of a different ophthalmic diagnosis. Sixty-seven patients (9.7%) were suspected to have another ophthalmic condition based on other findings in the retinal photographs. Among the 34 patients that were successfully completed a referral visit to Temple ophthalmology, there was good concordance between the level of DR detected by their screening fundus photographs and visit diagnosis. Conclusions Although a little more than half of the patients did not have diabetic eye disease, about half needed a referral to ophthalmology. However, only 9.5% of the referral-warranted exams actually received an eye exam. Mere identification of referral-warranted diabetic retinopathy and other ophthalmic conditions is not enough. A successful telemedicine screening program must close the communication gap between screening and diagnosis by reviewer to provide timely follow-up by eye care specialists.

scholarly journals Prevalence of eye pathology in a group of diabetic patients at National District Hospital Outpatient Department in Bloemfontein, South Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joleen P. Cairncross ◽  
Wilhelm J. Steinberg ◽  
Mathys J. Labuschagne
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Diabetic Retinopathy ◽  
Primary Healthcare ◽  
District Hospital ◽  
Diabetic Patients ◽  
Diabetic Retinopathy Screening ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Snellen Chart ◽  
History Of ◽  
Healthcare Interventions

Background: Diabetic retinopathy is the third most common cause of blindness after cataracts and glaucoma in South Africa. Primary healthcare interventions providing eye care services play an important role in preventing complications.Aim: To determine the prevalence of eye pathology in a group of diabetic patients at National District Hospital by screening for diabetes-associated ocular pathology.Setting: Outpatients Department run by Department of Family Medicine at National District Hospital in Bloemfontein from June to July 2014.Methods: Interviews were used to collect information regarding diabetic patients’ history of diabetes mellitus and if and when previous diabetic retinopathy screening was performed. Visual acuity was assessed, intra-ocular pressure measured and a non-mydriatic digital fundus camera used to screen for retinal pathology.Results: During the last year, only 4.5% of patients had their vision checked with a Snellen chart, and 16.5% were examined with an ophthalmoscope. Since diagnosis of diabetes, only 15.5% of patients were referred to an ophthalmologist. Patient referral was needed for 87 (42.9%) cases for refractive disorders, 37 (18.2%) for suspected glaucoma, 30 (14.8%) for cataracts, and 22 (10.8%) for diabetic retinopathy.Conclusion: This study confirms that glaucoma, cataracts and diabetic retinopathy are prevalent eye conditions among diabetic patients. Offering eye screening at primary healthcare level may contribute to early detection of eye pathology and timeous referral for sight-saving treatment.

scholarly journals A 15 Month Experience with a Primary Care-based Telemedicine Screening Program for Diabetic Retinopathy

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Benjamin ◽  
Justin Sun ◽  
Devon Cohen ◽  
Joseph Matz ◽  
Angela Barbera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Diabetic Retinopathy ◽  
Screening Program ◽  
Primary Care Clinic ◽  
University Hospital ◽  
Eye Disease ◽  
Diabetic Patients ◽  
Close Monitoring ◽  
Care Clinic ◽  
Retinal Screening

Abstract Background Using telemedicine for diabetic retinal screening is becoming popular especially amongst at-risk urban communities with poor access to care. The goal of the diabetic telemedicine project at Temple University Hospital is to improve cost-effective access to appropriate retinal care to those in need of close monitoring and/or treatment.Methods This will be a retrospective review of 15 months of data from March 2016 to May 2017. We will investigate how many patients were screened, how interpretable the photographs were, how often the photographs generated a diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy (DR) based on the screening photo, and how many patients followed-up for an exam in the office, if indicated.Results Six-hundred eighty-nine (689) digital retinal screening exams on 1377 eyes of diabetic patients were conducted in Temple’s primary care clinic. The majority of the photographs were read to have no retinopathy (755, 54.8%). Among all of the screening exams, 357 (51.8%) triggered a request for a referral to ophthalmology. Four-hundred forty-nine (449, 32.6%) of the photos were felt to be uninterpretable by the clinician. Referrals were meant to be requested for DR found in one or both eyes, inability to assess presence of retinopathy in one or both eyes, or for suspicion of a different ophthalmic diagnosis. Sixty-seven patients (9.7%) were suspected to have another ophthalmic condition based on other findings in the retinal photographs. Among the 34 patients that successfully completed a referral visit to Temple ophthalmology, there was good concordance between the level of DR detected by their screening fundus photographs and visit diagnosis.Conclusions Although a little more than half of the patients did not have diabetic eye disease, about half needed a referral to ophthalmology. However, only 9.5% of the referral-warranted screenings actually received an eye exam. Mere identification of referral-warranted diabetic retinopathy or other eye disease is not enough. A successful telemedicine screening program must close the communication gap between screening and diagnosis by reviewer to provide timely follow-up by eye care specialists.

Time and Latitude in South Africa

1972 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 27-38
Author(s):  
J. Hers
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
Astronomical Observations ◽  
Royal Observatory ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Astronomical Determination ◽  
Limited Accuracy ◽  
Better Than

In South Africa the modern outlook towards time may be said to have started in 1948. Both the two major observatories, The Royal Observatory in Cape Town and the Union Observatory (now known as the Republic Observatory) in Johannesburg had, of course, been involved in the astronomical determination of time almost from their inception, and the Johannesburg Observatory has been responsible for the official time of South Africa since 1908. However the pendulum clocks then in use could not be relied on to provide an accuracy better than about 1/10 second, which was of the same order as that of the astronomical observations. It is doubtful if much use was made of even this limited accuracy outside the two observatories, and although there may – occasionally have been a demand for more accurate time, it was certainly not voiced.

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