Diabetic retinopathy screening in a Canadian community pediatric diabetes clinic

Objective

To evaluate the screening rates for diabetic pediatric patients in a regional center according to the Canadian Diabetes Association guidelines.

Design

Retrospective study.

Participants

The study consisted of 82 patients seen in the pediatric diabetes clinic at Peterborough Regional Health Center.

Methods

Medical records for all pediatric patients with diabetes were reviewed between July 2016 and February 2017. Parents and children were surveyed on details of their ocular examination history. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to evaluate if any characteristics were associated with noncompliance to Canadian Diabetes Association guidelines.

Results

The average age of the patients in our study was 12 years old with a mean duration of diabetes of 4 years. The majority of patients had type 1 diabetes (n = 79/82, 96.3%) and the mean HbA1c level was 9.1. Only 16 patients (19.5%) adhered to the Canadian Diabetes Association guidelines for diabetic retinopathy screening. Of the 66 patients who did not comply with the guidelines, 65 (98.5%) had received more exams than recommended under their respective screening guidelines. All dilated eye examinations were normal, and no diabetic retinopathy was found. Statistical analysis revealed that the duration of diabetes may be a predicting factor of noncompliance to the guidelines (–0.2488, 95% CI –0.505, –0.042).

Conclusions

This study shows a low compliance rate with screening guidelines in our diabetic pediatric population. Of interest, the low compliance in this cohort was related to excessive eye exams. This study also found a low incidence rate of diabetic retinopathy despite poor management of diabetes, similar to previous studies of pediatric diabetic eye disease.