Portable telemedicine system for the prevention of blindness in Paraguay

Abstract

Objective: To describe the results obtained after the first year of implementation of a telemedicine system designed to prevent blindness.
Material and methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted in Itapúa (Paraguay) involving recording of non-mydriatic retinographies between October 2018 and October 2019 within the Telemedicine Program of “Fundación Retina Paraguay”. Data were processed with a software of the OptRetina® platform in a masked and randomized fashion, and then they were reviewed by an expert ophthalmologist who issued a report. Cases in which alterations were found, which were also stratified into three age-matched groups (≤ 40 years, 40 to 59 years and ≥ 60 years) and compared, were described.
Results: A total of 1,785 participants, aged ≤ 40 years (43.5%), 40 to 59 years (35.3%) and ≥ 60 years (21.2%), were evaluated. In this latter group, 44% had alterations in funduscopic images, and a statistically significant difference (< 0.001) was found when all alterations with respect to age were evaluated, with predominance in the oldest group. The most common alterations detected were: signs consistent with glaucomatous optic neuropathy (63 subjects; 3.5%), signs of diabetic retinopathy (35 subjects; 1.9%) and signs of age-related macular degeneration (26 subjects; 1.4%) in at least one eye.
Conclusion: The telemedicine system used allowed for the detection of optic disc and retinal alterations that were present mainly in subjects over 60 years of age.

Key words: telemedicine, prevention of blindness, retinography, retinal disorders, epidemiology, South America.