RESUMO
Purpose: Baseline knowledge and attitudes regarding diabetic retinopathy (DR) have not been previously reported for type 2 diabetes mellitus adults (T2DM) in Dharavi, one of the largest slums in Mumbai. Furthermore, a pre? and post?intervention survey study regarding this topic has not been conducted to date in Dharavi. This pre? and post?intervention survey study analyzes the impacts of DR counseling sessions administered individually on the knowledge and attitudes of T2DM participants recruited from Dharavi. Methods: Potential subjects (>30 years old) from Dharavi were enrolled by community workers and screened for T2DM. Those with confirmed T2DM were each registered for an individual DR counseling session. A survey was distributed to participants before the counseling session to determine their baseline knowledge and attitudes. The same survey was distributed after the counseling session, and changes in pre? and post?survey responses were analyzed. Results: Exactly 1718 T2DM study participants were given pre? and post?surveys. Before the counseling, T2DM participants showed low baseline knowledge and attitudes regarding DR, with only 30.8% (530/1718) participants being aware that diabetes can affect the eye. Participants showed significant improvements after the counseling session, with more participants showing willingness to attend DR screenings (pre: 38.3.%, post: 56.8%; P < 0.0001) and more becoming aware that diabetes can affect the eye (90.4%, 1553/1718; P < 0.0001). Conclusion: Targeted educational interventions for T2DM individuals from the slums of western India, such as Dharavi, can lead to significant improvements in knowledge and attitudes, representing a promising avenue in tackling the burden of avoidable blindness caused by DR in India.
RESUMO
Purpose: To examine the incidence, clinical findings and management of pellet gun–related ocular injuries that occurred during protests in Kashmir region. Methods: This retrospective study included records from 777 patients diagnosed with pellet gun–related ocular injuries admitted to a tertiary hospital in Srinagar, India, between July and November 2016. By reviewing the clinical records, the following data were collected: demographics, clinical information pertaining to the injury, imaging reports including computer tomography and ultrasonography B?scan, management in the emergency setting, and follow?up treatment. Results: Mean age was 22.3 ± 7.2 years and majority patients were male (97.7%). In terms of laterality, 94.3% and 5.7% of the patients sustained monocular and binocular injuries, respectively. In terms of the nature of injury, 76.3% of the eyes had open globe injury while 23.7% of the eyes had closed eye injury. Emergency surgical exploration was performed in 67.7% of closed globe injuries while emergency primary repair was done in 91.1% of open globe injuries. The vast majority of patients (98.7%) who required surgery underwent surgical intervention on the day of admission or the next day. Final best?corrected visual acuity (BCVA) after treatment was counting fingers or worse in 82.4% of the eyes. Conclusion: Pellet gun–related ocular injuries resulted in significant ocular morbidity, mostly manifesting as open globe injuries. Treatment often required surgical interventions, but despite expeditious management, visual prognosis remained poor for most of the patients.