On the occasion of World Sight Day, which this year is celebrated on Thursday 12 October, the Ophthalmology Operational Unit of the University Hospital of Ferrara – directed by prof. Marco Mura – organized an event called “Ophthalmology prevention open day 2023”.
This event, organized on October 12th from 3.00 pm to 7.30 pm at the Ophthalmology premises (3C0)will see free participation, but with regulated access, of up to 40 citizens who, by making a telephone reservation, will be able to carry out a screening visit consisting of an information interview and a specific eye screening exam. To book it is necessary to call on the morning of Wednesday 11 October, from 8.30 to 12.30, at the following number: 338.1160729.
The main eye diseases subject to prevention screening will be cataracts, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration and amblyopia.
Cataracts – i.e. the clouding of the crystalline lens, the lens that constitutes the natural autofocus of the photographic system of the human eye – is the most common cause of transient visual impairment in the population of the province of Ferrara over 50 years of age. A recent plan to remodulate the offer of the surgeons of the Ophthalmology Operating Unit has foreseen the activation of additional surgical sites, such as the Quisisana in Ferrara and the hospitals of Argenta, Comacchio and Cento as well as the Community House of Copparo, lowering the zero waiting list for truly urgent interventions and 3-4 months for elective interventions.
In patients suffering from glaucoma, there is a progressive increase in intraocular pressure, with consequent damage to the optic nerve, which causes visual field defects, generally asymptomatic until, in the advanced stages of the disease, the macula, seat of the central vision. It represents an early disease often without symptoms and is therefore defined as “the silent thief of sight”. It has a high social impact and epidemiological data tell us that approximately 3% of the population over 40 is affected. These data are also slightly higher than the world and national average for genetic reasons in a geographical area that affects the Adriatic strip of our region, from Comacchio to Rimini, including the provinces of Ferrara and Bologna. To make the quantitative dimensions of the phenomenon understandable, it can be stated that in a bus (50 seats) traveling in the center of Ferrara there are on average 2 patients suffering from glaucoma and 5 if the bus is reserved for people over 70 years of age.
“Therefore – declares the professor. Walls – our Operating Unit has dedicated two outpatient centers for advanced computerized diagnostics of the disease to the prevention and management of this subtle cause of handicap (one located at the Cona Hospital, the other located in the South-East district of Comacchio at the Casa della Salute), a laser clinic, a second level clinic and a surgical clinic for the selection of patients and monitoring the effectiveness of surgical and laser therapy active in Cona. This healthcare offer is necessarily integrated, given the large number of patients in the Ferrara provincial territory, by the inter-company functional coordination between the local specialist doctors – belonging to the Ferrara Local Health Authority – and the members of the Cona Ophthalmology Team. All through diagnostic and therapeutic pathways and targeted consultations.”
Patients suffering from age-related macular degeneration represent the most demanding challenge in terms of healthcare and also economic commitment in Public Health.
The reorganization of the collaborative relationships between the Territory and the Ophthalmology Department of the Cona hospital now allows 6 weekly sessions of intravitreal injection therapy which constitutes the modern therapy for the treatment of complications of senile maculopathy. In the operating rooms of Argenta, Comacchio and Cona, approximately 150 weekly injections of so-called sight-saving drugs are carried out, for a total of more than 7000 operations per year with access by patients even from outside the province and outside the region.
Amblyopia (the so-called lazy eye) is a pathology mainly affecting children and young people whose early diagnosis and treatment, with correction of the refractive error and other methods, allows the normal development of visual function. The functional interaction between the pediatrician, the ophthalmologist and the technical-orthoptist staff allows the clinical result of reducing late diagnosis and intractable cases to minimum levels in Level I and II Centers.
TELEMEDICINE AND PREVENTION OF DIABETIC RETINOPATHY: THANKS TO THE ‘DISTANCE REPORTING’ THE TESTS ARE NOW ALSO DONE IN COPPARO. From August 2023 the screening activity of diabetic retinopathy, through remote reporting of retinal imagingstarted for the first time in Copparo, in the “Lands and Rivers” community house.
It is a way of preventing diabetic retinopathy which it can be performed remotely and thanks to Telemedicine. In fact, the patient can go to the clinic closest to his place of residence to undergo retinography, or photography of his retina; but it is only thanks to remote reporting, i.e. the sending of the report via the web to the specialist, who operates in a different location from the one in which the patient carried out the screening, that the “remote” evaluation is then carried out.
The exam, along the lines of the radiological one reported remotely, includes:
– the prescription issued by the diabetologist to diabetic patients (from 18 years of age and who have not yet shown signs of diabetic retinopathy);
– the execution of the exam by the orthotist technician who works in Copparo;
– the reporting of the exam which takes place remotely and is carried out after an accurate evaluation by the ophthalmologists who operate remotely, in the Community House of San Rocco in Ferrara.
The remote management of retinal imaging, consistently with the objectives of the PNRR and of Ministerial Decree 77, relating to the reform of local healthcare, aims to guarantee diabetic patients who turn to Community Homes the possibility of accessing a structured prevention- diagnosis and treatment of ocular complications, using new processes and digital telemedicine tools already consolidated in the Ferrara healthcare system.