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AIM:To assess the awareness of eye complications and the prevalence of retinopathy,in the first visit to eye clinic,among type 2 diabetic patients attending a tertiary medical centre in Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia.METHODS:An investigator-administered questionnaire was given to 137 patients with diabetes undergoing first time eye screening in the eye clinic.This was followed by a detailed fundus examination by a senior ophthalmologist to assess for presence of retinopathy.RESULTS:Almost 86% of respondents were aware of diabetic eye complications,especially in patients who had achieved tertiary educational level(96.3%).The majority of the patients(78.8%) were referred by their physicians and only 20.4% came on their own initiative.Many of the patients(43.8%) did not know how frequent they should go for an eye check-up and 72.3% did not know what treatments were available.Lack of understanding on diabetic eye diseases(68.6%) was the main barrier for most patients for not coming for eye screening earlier.Despite a high level of awareness,only 21.9% had recorded HbA1c level of <6.5% while 31.4% were under the erroneous assumption of having a good blood sugar control.A total of 29.2% had diabetic retinopathy in their first visit eye testing.CONCLUSION:In the present study,29.2% of type 2 diabetic patients had retinopathy in their first time eye testing.Although the awareness of diabetic eye complications was high among first time eye screening patients,the appropriate eye care-seeking behavior was comparatively less and should be rectified to prevent the rise of this sight threatening eye disease.
AIM: To assess the awareness of eye complications and the prevalence of retinopathy, in the first visit to eye clinic, among type 2 diabetic patients attending a tertiary medical center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. METHODS: An investigator-administered questionnaire was given to 137 patients with diabetes undergoing first time eye screening in the eye clinic.This was followed by a detailed fundus examination by a senior ophthalmologist to assess for presence of retinopathy .RESULTS: Almost 86% of respondents were aware of diabetic eye complications, especially in patients who had achieved tertiary educational level (96.3%). The majority of the patients (78.8%) were referred by their physicians and only 20.4% came on their own initiative. Many of the patients (43.8%) did not know how frequent they should go for an eye check-up and 72.3% did not know what treatments were available. Back of understanding on diabetic eye diseases (68.6%) was the main barrier for most patients for not coming for eye screenin g earlier. Desperation a high level of awareness, only 21.9% had had HbA1c level of <6.5% while 31.4% were under the erroneous assumption of having a good blood sugar control. A total of 29.2% had diabetic retinopathy in their first visit eye testing.CONCLUSION: In the present study, 29.2% of type 2 diabetic patients had retinopathy in their first time eye testing. Though the awareness of diabetic eye complications was high among first time eye screening patients, the appropriate eye care-seeking behavior was comparatively less and should be rectified to prevent the rise of this Sight threatening eye disease.