Importance of routine screening for diabetic eye disease and the advantages of using an ophthalmologically trained physician.

The notes of 200 consecutive diabetic patients were reviewed to assess the presence of unsuspected eye disease present at the first visit to a routine eye screening clinic run by an ophthalmologically trained cinical assistant. Twenty-three patients on oral hypoglycaemic drugs (21%) and 17 patients on insulin therapy (22%) had significant retinopathy. Twenty-one patients (one on diet, 13 on oral hypoglycaemic drugs and seven on insulin therapy) complained of visual symptoms, but in only seven patients was this due to retinopathy. In five of the patients, untreatable advanced diabetic eye disease was found. Thus the majority (83%) of patients with retinopathy were asymptomatic. After cataracts, glaucoma was the next most common co-incidental eye disease found. Using an ophthalmologically-trained clinical assistant to screen for diabetic eye disease allows other eye conditions to be identified and promptly treated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]