Mukwanseke Edith, Kilangalanga Janvier, Lutete Flavien, Hopkins Adrian, Guthoff Rudolf F, Frech Stefanie
Centre de Formation Ophtalmologique Pour l'Afrique Centrale, Eye Department, Saint Joseph's Hospital, Kinshasa P.O. Box 322, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
National Programme for Eye Health and Vision, Kinshasa P.O. Box 322, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
J Clin Med. 2021 Aug 25;10(17):3791. doi: 10.3390/jcm10173791.
The aim of this study was to analyse outpatient services in an ophthalmic clinic of a church-run hospital providing secondary level care in an African megacity, paying special attention to the poorest users of the services. The range of examination was reviewed from 500 patient records of all ages consecutively chosen on random days attending the outpatient department for the first time in order to optimize workflow and to analyse the offered treatment modalities. Mean age was 41.9 ± 21.9 years, and 53.6% of the patients were female. Of the patients, 74.8% presented with visual impairment. The most frequent findings were refractive errors (35.8%), presbyopia (21.2%), allergic conjunctivitis (14.0%), cataract (13.2%) and glaucoma (6.4%). Patient management consisted of optical treatment (49.6%), surgery (11.4%) and medical treatment (39.0%). These results show the importance of the demand in refractive services and the need to train specific service providers. Knowing the frequencies of common conditions enables more appropriate diagnostic and treatment strategies, e.g., the importance of refractive errors, and should lead to improvements in training, staffing, therapeutics and patient outcomes. This approach can be applied to many other outpatient services and should be evaluated in light of the city's impoverished health outreach and educational situation.
本研究的目的是分析一家在非洲大城市提供二级护理的教会医院眼科门诊服务，特别关注服务的最贫困使用者。从随机选择的连续几天首次到门诊部就诊的所有年龄段的500份患者记录中回顾检查范围，以优化工作流程并分析所提供的治疗方式。平均年龄为41.9±21.9岁，53.6%的患者为女性。在这些患者中，74.8%有视力障碍。最常见的检查结果是屈光不正（35.8%）、老花眼（21.2%）、过敏性结膜炎（14.0%）、白内障（13.2%）和青光眼（6.4%）。患者管理包括光学治疗（49.6%）、手术（11.4%）和药物治疗（39.0%）。这些结果表明屈光服务需求的重要性以及培训特定服务提供者的必要性。了解常见病症的发生率有助于制定更合适的诊断和治疗策略，例如屈光不正问题的重要性，并且应该会改善培训、人员配备、治疗方法和患者治疗效果。这种方法可以应用于许多其他门诊服务，并且应该根据该市贫困的医疗服务覆盖范围和教育状况进行评估。
