Diabetic retinopathy screening using tele-ophthalmology in a primary care setting.
J Telemed Telecare. 2010 Sep 2;
Authors: Andonegui J, Serrano L, Eguzkiza A, Berástegui L, Jiménez-Lasanta L, Aliseda D, Gaminde I
We evaluated tele-ophthalmology for diabetic retinopathy screening in a primary care setting. Four general practitioners (GPs) were taught to assess non-mydriatic retinography images of patients with diabetes. After training, a total of 1223 patients were screened using this method: 926 (76%) did not have diabetic retinopathy and 297 (24%) were referred for an ophthalmologic assessment. Of the 297 patients, 186 (15%) did not have diabetic retinopathy and were considered to be false positives, 85 (7%) had diabetic retinopathy and in 26 cases (2%) the retinography images were unreadable. The specificity of GPs for detecting diabetic retinopathy by non-mydriatic retinography was 83%. Ophthalmologists also assessed 120 patients who had been diagnosed as normal to detect false negatives. Ten patients (8.3%) had mild non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy with small isolated retinal hemorrhages. Only one patient (0.8%) had treatable diabetic retinopathy with hard exudates and microaneurysms. The sensitivity of GPs for detecting diabetic retinopathy was 90.9%; the sensitivity for detecting treatable lesions was 99.2%. We concluded that adequately trained GPs can screen for treatable lesions of diabetic retinopathy with a very high level of reliability using non-mydriatic retinography.
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– Diabetic retinopathy screening using tele-ophthalmology in a primary care setting.
HbA(1c) as predictor of all-cause mortality in individuals at high risk of diabetes with normal glucose tolerance, identified by screening: a follow-up study of the Anglo-Danish-Dutch Study of Intensive Treatment in People with Screen-Detected Diabetes in Primary Care (ADDITION), Denmark.
Diabetologia. 2010 Aug 11;
Authors: Skriver MV, Borch-Johnsen K, Lauritzen T, Sandbaek A
AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Stepwise screening for type 2 diabetes will not only identify people with the disease or some other form of dysglycaemia (impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance), but also many individuals who are phenotypically at high risk of developing diabetes, but currently have normal glucose tolerance (NGT). We therefore sought to assess whether HbA(1c) adds prognostic information in relation to all-cause mortality in people who have NGT and a high risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus. METHODS: In a Danish population-based stepwise screening programme for type 2 diabetes mellitus in general practice, we identified 15,634 persons at high risk of type 2 diabetes, who had NGT and a recorded HbA(1c) measurement. As comparison groups, we included 1,401 people identified as having type 2 diabetes mellitus and 8,149 individuals characterised as being at low risk of diabetes. All individuals were followed from time of screening (April 2001 to December 2006) until death or 31 October 2009. Excess mortality was estimated using Cox proportional hazard models with all-cause mortality as the outcome measure. RESULTS: Compared with individuals with NGT and HbA(1c) below 6.0%, adjusted hazard ratios were: 1.21 (95% CI 0.95-1.56) for individuals with NGT and HbA(1c) between 6.0% and 6.5%; 2.48 (95% CI 1.23-4.99) for individuals with NGT and HbA(1c) 6.5% or above (in this group there were eight deaths among 68 individuals); 1.73 (95% CI 1.40-2.13) for individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: HbA(1c) level in people with NGT and at high risk of diabetes was clearly associated with increased all-cause mortality.
20697688
– HbA(1c) as predictor of all-cause mortality in individuals at high risk of diabetes with normal glucose tolerance, identified…
Health improvement and prevention study (HIPS) – evaluation of an intervention to prevent vascular disease in general practice.
BMC Fam Pract. 2010 Aug 5;11(1):57
Authors: Fanaian M, Laws RA, Passey M, McKenzie S, Wan Q, Powell Davies G, Lyle D, Harris MF
ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The Health Improvement and Prevention Study (HIPS) study aims to evaluate the capacity of general practice to identify patients at high risk for developing vascular disease and to reduce their risk of vascular disease and diabetes through behavioural interventions delivered in general practice and by the local primary care organization. Methods / Design HIPS is a stratified randomized controlled trial involving 30 general practices in NSW, Australia. Practices are randomly allocated to an ‘intervention’ or ‘control’ group. General practitioners (GPs) and practice nurses (PNs) are offered training in lifestyle counselling and motivational interviewing as well as practice visits and patient educational resources. Patients enrolled in the trial present for a health check in which the GP and PN provide brief lifestyle counselling based on the 5As model (ask, assess, advise, assist, and arrange) and refer high risk patients to a diet education and physical activity program. The program consists of two individual visits with a dietician or exercise physiologist and four group sessions, after which patients are followed up by the GP or PN. In each practice 160 eligible patients aged between 40 and 64 years are invited to participate in the study, with the expectation that 40 will be eligible and willing to participate. Evaluation data collection consists of (1) a practice questionnaire, (2) GP and PN questionnaires to assess preventive care attitudes and practices, (3) patient questionnaire to assess self-reported lifestyle behaviours and readiness to change, (4) physical assessment including weight, height, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference and blood pressure, (5) a fasting blood test for glucose and lipids, (6) a clinical record audit, and (7) qualitative data collection. All measures are collected at baseline and 12 months except the patient questionnaire which is also collected at 6 months. Study outcomes before and after the intervention is compared between intervention and control groups after adjusting for baseline differences and clustering at the level of the practice. DISCUSSION: This study will provide evidence of the effectiveness of a primary care intervention to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes in general practice patients. It will inform current policies and programs designed to prevent these conditions in Australian primary health care. Trial Registration: ACTRN12607000423415.
20687956
– Health improvement and prevention study (HIPS) – evaluation of an intervention to prevent vascular disease in general…
