COMPARISON BETWEEN AN OPHTHALMIC OPTICIAN AND AN OPHTHALMOLOGIST IN SCREENING FOR DIABETIC-RETINOPATHY

The best method of screening for diabetic retinopathy is still debated : fundus photography, general practitioners, hospital physicians and o phthalmic opticians have been advocated, This study compared the perfo rmance of an ophthalmic optician with an ophthalmologist, both using m ydriatic and slit lamp biomicroscopy and direct ophthalmoscopy, A tota l of 474 eyes of diabetics in a single group practice were examined by both practitioners at their annual check, There was total agreement a bout presence or absence of retinopathy in 366 eyes (77%), Although th e optician diagnosed less background diabetic retinopathy (83 versus 1 23 eyes) and diabetic maculopathy (47 eyes versus 63 eyes), he would h ave referred 20 of 26 eyes with moderate or severe maculopathy and 33 of 36 eyes with moderate or severe background retinopathy: sensitiviti es of 0.77 and 0.92 respectively, This compares favourably with previo us studies and we suggest that ophthalmic opticians with suitable trai ning would be an effective body to screen for diabetic retinopathy.