Use of cataract surgery in urban Beijing: a post screening follow-up of the elderly with visual impairment due to age-related cataract / 中国医学科学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To understand the perception for the use of cataract surgical services in a population of acceptors and non-acceptors of cataract surgery in urban Beijing.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>From a community-based screening program a total of 158 patients with presenting visual acuity of less than 6/18 on either eye due to age-related cataract were informed about the possibility of surgical treatment. These patients were interviewed and re-examined 36 to 46 months after initial screening. The main reasons for not accepting surgery were obtained using a questionnaire. Vision function and vision-related quality of life scores were assessed in those who received and did not receive surgery.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>At the follow-up examination 116 of the 158 patients were available and 36 (31.0%) had undergone cataract surgery. Cases who chose surgery had higher education level than those who did not seek surgery (OR=2.64, 95% CI: 1.08-6.63, P=0.02). There were no significant differences in vision function (P=0.11) or quality of life scores (P=0.16) between the surgery group and the non-surgery group. Main reasons for not having surgery included no perceived need (50.0%), feeling of being "too old" (19.2%), and worry about the quality of surgery (9.6%). Cost was cited by 1 (1.9%) subject as the main reason for not seeking surgery.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The data suggest that in China's capital urban center for patients with moderate visual impairment there is a relative low acceptance rate of cataract surgery, mainly due to people's perception of marginal benefits of surgery. Cost is not a determining factor as barrier to undergo surgery and patients with poorer education are less likely to undertake surgery.</p>

Comparison between ophthalmologists and community health workers in screening of shallow anterior chamber with oblique flashlight test / 中国医学科学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the agreement between ophthalmologists and community health workers in detecting shallow anterior chamber with oblique flashlight test.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Totally 425 subjects were given an eye examination in a community health center. The anterior chamber depth of each subject was examined by one ophthalmologist and two trained community health workers (one nurse and one non-professional health worker) using oblique flashlight test. Inter-observer agreement was determined using the weighted kappa statistic.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Among the enrolled subjects, 148 (35%) were male and 277 (65%) were female. Good agreement was noted in all the three observers. The comparison between the ophthalmologist and the nurse showed a kappa statistic of 0.42 for both eyes (P < 0.001). The kappa statistic was 0.54 and 0.52 for right and left eyes respectively between the ophthalmologist and the non-professional health worker (P<0.001). As for agreement between the nurse and the non-professional health, worker, the kappa statistic was 0.49 and 0.38 for right and left eyes, respectively (P < 0.001).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The oblique flashlight test may be used as an applicable tool by trained community health workers for screening of shallow anterior chamber and play a role in blindness prevention in community.</p>