RAAB can assess diabetes and DR

The Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB) framework can be used to assess diabetes and diabetic retinopathy (DR) but is costly and time consuming, according to a study recently published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

Dr Abdul Hamid Al Ghamdiet al.,, Hannah Kuper, Department of Clinical Research, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, 66 clusters of 50 people aged who underwent visual acuity measurements.

The DR was assessed via dilated fundus examination using a direct and indirect ophthalmoscope. Digital fundus photographs were graded using the Scottish DR grading system.

Of the 3052 patients examined, blindness prevalence was 2.6% and posterior segment diseases and cataract were identified as the leading cause of blindness. The agreement between clinical examination and reference standard was good for DR and STDR.

The RAAB can be used to evaluate diabetes and DR but it is time consuming, complex and costly.

The abstract can be found here.

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