Prevalence and epidemiological characteristics of patients with diabetic retinopathy in Slovakia: 12-month results from the DIARET SK study.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the prevalence and epidemiological characteristics of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in Slovakian patients with Type 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) in the DIARET SK study. PATIENTS AND METHODS: An epidemiological multi-center survey that included 4,078 adult patients (aged ≥18 years) from 51 diabetologists and 47 ophthalmologists. Data were collected from February to December 2015. RESULTS: The final data set consisted of 4,014 patients; 3,700 were enrolled (Type 2 DM = 3,405, Type 1 DM = 295) using a quasi-random approach; 16 (Type 2 DM = 15, Type 1 DM = 1) patients in the pre-specified group had DM duration of <5 years with a history of DR while 298 patients (Type 2 DM = 204, Type 1 DM = 94) had DM duration of ≥ 20 years. The mean (standard deviation [SD]) age of patients at diagnosis for Types 2 and 1 DM was 53.4 (9.5) and 27.6 (12.9) years, respectively. The mean (SD) glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) was 7.5 (1.4) and 8.5 (1.6) in Types 2 and 1 DM patients, respectively, whereas a slightly higher proportion of patients had >11.0 HbA1c in Type 1 DM (5.8%) than Type 2 (2.0%). The mean (SD) duration of Type 2 DM was shorter compared with Type 1 (7.5 [5.2] vs 10.3 [6.9] years). In Type 2 DM patients, there were 516 (15.5%) cases of DR, 19 (0.56%) of proliferative DR (PDR), and 106 (3.11%) of diabetic macular edema (DME). In Type 1 DM patients, there were 86 (29.15%) cases of DR, 10 (3.39%) PDR, and 12 (4.07%) DME. CONCLUSIONS: In Slovakian patients with DM, the duration of disease and higher HbA1c were the most prevalent factors that contributed to the development of DR and DME.

Patient's and physician's behavior on the management of benign prostatic hyperplasia among the patients at the risk of clinical progression. A multicenter noninterventional trial in Slovakia by "Prostate and Expectations of Treatment: Epidemiology Research" (PETER) study group.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the survey was to assess physician's behavior and the global knowledge about patient's preferences and their psychological burden linked to lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in an outpatient setting in Slovakia. METHODS: The study included 36 outpatient urological clinics. Overall, 1132 newly diagnosed LUTS patients were screened within 1 month. A total of 454 questionnaires were obtained from 459 LUTS patients with risk of progression (RP). Inclusion criteria were: age > 50 years, IPSS > 8, prostate volume ≥ 30 cm3, and PSA ≥ 1.5 to ≤ 10 ng/ml. RESULTS: The digital rectal examination, PSA testing, and urinalysis were used in all the centers as first visit examinations. The least frequently performed diagnostic procedure was uroflowmetry (74 %). The physician's preferred therapy for patients with RP was standard combined treatment in (52.6 %); followed by α-blocker alone (45 %) and monotherapy with 5-α-reductase inhibitors (5-ARI) only in 3 % of all asked urologists. Patient's mean age was 63.3 years (SD ± 7.4); baseline PSA value 2.2 ng/ml (SD + 3.2); prostate volume was 38.0 ml (SD ± 16.7 ml); Qmax was 11.5 ml/s (SD ± 4.6); and IPSS score 12.5 (SD ± 6.3). The most bothersome symptoms were nocturia (prevalence of ≥ 75 %), weak urinary stream (61 %), and retarded voiding (43 %). Patient's expectations of treatment were rapid improvement of symptoms (36.0 %), stabilization of symptoms (35.5 %), and reduction of potential risk of surgical intervention (25.8 %). CONCLUSIONS: Our research reflects the physician's behavior, patient's self-perception of the disease and therapeutic priorities in the current outpatient practice in Slovakia.

Patient's behavior and attitudes toward the management of benign prostatic hyperplasia among patients with the risk of disease progression: prospective study by "Prostate and Expectations of Treatment Epidemiology Research (PETER) study group".

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to evaluate patients attitudes with benign prostatic hyperplasia at the risk of progression during a 12-month period of observation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 426 patients from 45 outpatients centers were included and prospectively followed. Inclusion criteria were: age > 50 years, International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) > 8, prostate volume > 30 cm(3) (transabdominal ultrasound) and PSA > 1.5 to < 10 ng/ml. RESULTS: In all, 28.6% patients were naive, 62.9% used monotherapy (alpha-blocker), and 8.5% combined treatment (alpha-blocker/5alpha-reductase inhibitor/dutasteride). The most bothersome symptoms were the weak urine stream (60.8%) and nocturia (59.2%). Patients expectations from the treatment were stabilization of the disease and reducing the risk of surgery rather than rapid resolution of symptoms. Despite the presence of symptoms, 2.3% patients claimed that benign prostatic hyperplasia/lower urinary tract symptoms had no impact on their quality of life (QoL), in 48.1 % only little impact on QoL, and 47.9% patients percepted their symptoms as severe. Out of 71.4% patients treated previously, 26.5% patients were indecisive about the satisfaction of present treatment. Visual analog score was percepted more optimistically rather than the IPSS. Pearson's correlation r = 0.68 at the beginning and r = 0.83 at the end of the study. CONCLUSIONS: Prostate and Expectations of Treatment Epidemiology Research study highlights and reflects on patients behavior and self-perception, patients self-perception of the disease and therapeutic priorities during the 1 year of observation.