Change in Diabetic Panretinal Photocoagulation Incidence

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE:Diabetic blindness occurs most often among working-age people. Panretinal photocoagulation (PRP) can prevent this outcome. Administrative data examined changes in PRP incidence rates.PATIENTS AND METHODS:Anonymous data from the “claims submitted” files of an insurer with nationwide representation was used. This health insurance was a job benefit, and the sample included 6,085,750 U.S. employees and their dependents. Those who received PRP for diabetic retinopathy were compared to all others with diabetes mellitus. Although some enrollees had more than one PRP procedure, each procedure was considered a unique event. The rate change was evaluated by chi-square tests with post hoc tests for pair-wise comparisons.RESULTS:A total of 14,856 PRP procedures were performed. An incidence rate reduction from 0.95% to 0.67% (chi-square = 243.6818, A total of 14,856 PRP procedures were performed. An incidence rate reduction from 0.95% to 0.67% (chi-square = 243.6818, P< .0001) was found within the study interval.CONCLUSION:The incidence of PRP was reduced in this sample of U.S. workers and their dependents.