Indigenous Canadians (IC) experience inequities in eye care. Identification of these inequities may inform the development of culturally appropriate interventions.
For this review, a literature search of Ovid Medline, Ovid Embase, CINAHL – EBSCO and Scopus from inception to January 24, 2024 was conducted. Studies were screened by two independent reviewers, and conflicts were resolved through discussion with a third reviewer.
IC have a greater burden but lower likelihood of being screened for diabetic retinopathy (DR). Barriers to DR care include poor access and racism; enablers include supportive interactions, culturally sensitive programming, and the inclusion of Indigenous staff. IC have less access to cataract surgery and post-operative follow-up due to geographic, economic, and cultural factors. Inuit people have the highest global rates of angle-closure glaucoma. Tele-glaucoma may reduce the time to treatment for open-angle glaucoma. Compared to non-IC, uveitis in IC occurs at a younger age, is more often bilateral and granulomatous with pan-uveal involvement, in part because Vogt Koyanagi Harada is more common in IC. Uncorrected refractive errors, conjunctival papilloma, epiblepharon, and spheroidal keratopathy may disproportionally affect IC.
Barriers to ophthalmic care for IC persist in both rural and urban settings. Health care should be culturally appropriate, integrated with primary care and incorporate tele-ophthalmology if needed. Holistic care at Indigenous-led centres is ideal.
To describe a web-based, high-quality data collection tool able to track the clinical data of patients with dry eye disease (DED) in routine clinical practice.
Retrospective analysis of core system web data from a prospectively designed, observational, routine clinical practice registry, the Save Sight Dry Eye Registry (SSDER).
Patients with DED, from 11-Nov-2020 to 04-Mar-2024 were analysed. Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) and Ocular Comfort Index (OCI) questionnaires collected patient-reported DED symptoms, and the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4) screened for anxiety and depression. Outcome data include index visit demography, DED symptoms and signs.
Fifteen clinicians (ophthalmologists and optometrists) from nine practices across Australia, France, Germany, Nepal, Spain and the United Kingdom contributed data, comprising index visits of 958 eyes from 479 patients (mean±SD age 56±17 years; 78.7% female). Up to 89.9% of the patients had either evaporative or mixed DED based on clinician's judgement. Mean OSDI symptom score at index visit was 35.7 ± 19.4 (n = 366), and the mean sores for frequency and intensity of discomfort with the OCI was 31.9 ± 6.1 and 31.4 ± 6.8 (n = 202) respectively. Forty-one percent of patients had mild to severe symptoms of anxiety and depression. Median tear breakup time and tear meniscus height were 5 (IQR 2–8) seconds and 0.3 (IQR 0.2–0.4) mm, respectively. Ocular surface staining was graded as none (37.6%), minimal (31.7%), mild (19.8%), moderate (8.8%) and severe (2.1%).
The SSDER facilitated the collection of data from patients with DED from real-world clinical practice. Presenting patients had moderate DED, which was mostly evaporative in nature. Symptoms of anxiety and depression were reported by more than one-third of the cohort.