Sight impairment registration in Trinidad: trend in causes and population coverage in comparison to the National Eye Survey of Trinidad and Tobago.

BACKGROUND: Little was known about the population coverage and causes of sight impairment (SI) registration within the Caribbean, or the extent to which register studies offer insights into population eye health. METHODS: We compared causes of SI registration in the Trinidad and Tobago Blind Welfare Association (TTBWA) register with findings from the 2014 National Eye Survey of Trinidad and Tobago (NESTT), and estimated registration coverage. Cross-sectional validation studies of registered clients included interviews, visual function and cause ascertainment in July 2013, and interviews and visual function in July 2016. RESULTS: The TTBWA register included 863 people (all ages, 48.1%(n = 415) male) registered between 1951 and 2015. The NESTT identified 1.1%(75/7158) people aged ≥5years eligible for partial or severe SI registration, of whom 49.3%(n = 37) were male. Registration coverage was approximately 7% of the eligible population of Trinidad. Nevertheless, there was close agreement in the causes of SI comparing the register and population-representative survey. Glaucoma was the leading cause in both the register (26.1%,n = 225) and population-based survey (26.1%, 18/69 adults), followed by cataract and diabetic retinopathy. In the validation studies combined, 62.6%(93/151) clients had severe SI, 28.5%(43/151) had partial SI and 9.9%(15/151) did not meet SI eligibility criteria. SI was potentially avoidable in at least 58%(n = 36/62) adults and 50%(n = 7/14) children. CONCLUSION: We report very low register coverage of the SI population, but close agreement in causes of SI to a contemporaneous national population-based eye survey, half of which resulted from preventable or treatable eye disease.

Demographic and socioeconomic barriers and treatment seeking behaviors of patients with infectious keratitis requiring therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty.

Purpose: To understand demographic and socioeconomic barriers and treatment-seeking behaviors of patients with infectious keratitis requiring therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty (TPK) in a developing country. Methods: This prospective non-comparative questionnaire- based study included all patients presenting to Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai with infectious keratitis that eventuated to TPK between November 2015 and October 2016. A structured questionnaire was administered on post-operative day 3 to collect data on the demographic details, predisposing factors, prior treatment received, and treatment expenditures. Results: In total, 227 patients underwent TPK between November 2015 and October 2016 for infectious keratitis. The majority of patients were males (n = 132, 58.1%), illiterate (n = 129, 56.8%), and had a family monthly income of less than INR 6000 (n = 142, 62.5%). Most of the patients (n = 163, 71.8%) had prior treatment with an ophthalmologist before presenting to our hospital. The mean distance travelled to reach our centre was 269.2 ± 298.5 km. The mean duration of disease before the presentation was 20.3 ± 21.1 days. Corneal smear was positive for fungus in 163 (88.1%) and Aspergillus was the most commonly isolated fungi in 55 (41.3%) cultures. The mean total cost of treatment was INR 8752.87 ± 7615.39 per patient. There was a positive correlation between the duration of the disease (rho 0.19, P = 0.0034) and the costs of treatment (rho 0.2, P = 0.0024) with the distance travelled by the patient. Conclusion: Patients who travelled a farther distance had a delayed onset of presentation and spent significantly more than their respective counterparts.

Adverse events in diabetic foot infections: a case control study comparing early versus delayed medical treatment after home remedies.

BACKGROUND: The aim of conventional medical therapy in diabetic foot infections is to control infection, thereby reducing amputation rates, infectious morbidity, and death. Any delay incurred during a trial of home remedies could allow an infection to progress unchecked, increasing the risk of these adverse outcomes. This study sought to determine the effects of delayed operative interventions and amputations in these patients. METHODS: A questionnaire study targeting all consecutive patients admitted with diabetic foot infection was carried out over 1 year. Two groups were defined, ie, a medical therapy group comprising patients who sought medical attention after detecting their infection and a home remedy group comprising those who voluntarily chose to delay medical therapy in favor of home remedies. The patients were followed throughout their hospital admissions. We recorded the duration of hospitalization and number of operative debridements and amputations performed. RESULTS: There were 695 patients with diabetic foot infections, comprising 382 in the medical therapy group and 313 in the home remedy group. Many were previously hospitalized for foot infections in the medical therapy (78%) and home remedy (74.8%) groups. The trial of home remedies lasted for a mean duration of 8.9 days. The home remedy group had a longer duration of hospitalization (16.3 versus 8.5 days; P<0.001), more operative debridements (99.7% versus 94.5%; P<0.001), and more debridements per patient (2.85 versus 2.45; P<0.001). Additionally, in the home remedy group, there was an estimated increase in expenditure of US $10,821.72 US per patient and a trend toward more major amputations (9.3% versus 5.2%; P=0.073). CONCLUSION: There are negative outcomes when patients delay conventional medical therapy in favour of home remedies to treat diabetic foot infections. These treatments need not be mutually exclusive. We encourage persons with diabetes who wish to try home remedies to seek medical advice in addition as a part of holistic care.

Self-directed treatment for lower limb wounds in persons with diabetes: a short report.

AIM: There has been little focus on self-directed treatment for lower limb wounds, although it a common practice among persons with diabetes across the Caribbean. We sought to document this practice in a Caribbean nation. METHODS: We prospectively interviewed all consecutive patients with diabetes who were admitted with lower limb wounds at the San Fernando General Hospital in Trinidad and Tobago over a period of 18 months. A questionnaire was used to collect data on patient demographics, use of self-directed treatment, and details of these treatments. RESULTS: Of 839 persons with diabetes who were admitted with infected lower limb wounds, 344 (41%) admitted to self-directed treatment before seeking medical attention. These patients were predominantly male (59.9%) at a mean age of 56.4±12.4 years. The practice was most common in persons of Afro-Caribbean descent (45.9%) and those with type 2 diabetes (93.9%). In this group, 255 (74.4%) patients were previously admitted to hospital for lower limb infections. And of those, 32 (12.6%) had a prior amputation and 108 (42.4%) had at least one operative debridement specifically for foot infections. CONCLUSION: Caribbean cultural practices may be an important contributor to negative outcomes when treating lower limb wounds in persons with diabetes. Despite being acutely aware of the potentially devastating consequences of inadequate treatment, 41% of our patients with diabetes still opted to use self-directed treatment for lower limb wounds. This deserves further study in order to give a more tailored approach in care delivery.

Topical "soft candle" applications for infected diabetic foot wounds: a cause for concern?

AIMS: There is a cultural barrier to early medical intervention for diabetic foot infections in Trinidad & Tobago, stemming from the strong cultural belief in "soft candle" as effective treatment. We carried out a case-control study to evaluate the outcomes of "soft candle" to treat diabetic foot infections. METHODS: ALL CONSECUTIVE PATIENTS ADMITTED WITH DIABETIC FOOT INFECTIONS WERE INTERVIEWED TO COLLECT DATA ON: demographics, medical history, unhealthy lifestyle markers (exposure to risk factors for chronic diseases), chosen treatment and details of "soft candle" use. The hospital records were accessed on discharge to records the main outcome measures: HbA1c readings, duration of hospitalization, amputation and in-hospital mortality. Two groups were defined: The control group included patients who sought medical attention after detecting a foot infection. The study group included patients who recognized their infection but voluntarily chose to utilize "soft candle" regimens. We excluded patients who voluntarily chose to use other forms of non-traditional treatment or sought no treatment at all. Outcomes were compared using SPSS ver 19. A two-tailed P value was calculated for variables of interest in each group using Fisher's exact test. The duration of hospitalization between the groups was compared using paired T-Test. A P value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: There were 442 patients who met inclusion criteria: There were 60 patients in the study group at an average age of 55.2 years (SD ± 11.4; range 43-88): 63% had HBA1c readings >7.0% at presentation and 95% had unhealthy lifestyle habits. There were 382 patients in the control group at an average age of 59.1 years (SD ± 12.6, Range 37-89): 74% with HBA1c readings >7.0% at presentation and 48% with unhealthy lifestyle habits. Patients who used "soft candle" had significantly longer duration of hospitalization (15.5 ± 10.2 vs 9.2 ± 3.9 days; P<0.001) and major amputations (13.3% vs 5.6%; P=0.048) that was considered clinically significant. There was no difference in minor amputations (31.7% vs 34.3%; P=0.770) or in-hospital mortality (1.7% vs 0.52%; P=0.355) between the groups. CONCLUSION: In its current form, the traditional practice of topical "soft candle" application to diabetic foot wounds may be potentially harmful. Persons with diabetes should be warned about these effects. We have identified the target population for educational campaigns.

The economic impact of hospitalization for diabetic foot infections in a Caribbean nation.

CONTEXT: Foot infection is the most common complication of diabetes mellitus in the Caribbean. Diabetic foot infections place a heavy burden on health care resources in the Caribbean. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the treatment-related costs for diabetic foot infections in a Caribbean nation. METHODS: We identified all patients with diabetic foot infections in a 730-bed hospital serving a catchment population of approximately 400,000 persons from June 1, 2011 through July 31, 2012. The following data were collected: details of infection, antibiotic usage, investigations performed, number of physician consultations, details of operative treatment, and duration of hospitalization. Total charges were tallied to determine the final cost for inhospital treatment of diabetic foot infections. RESULTS: There were 446 patients hospitalized with diabetic foot infections, yielding approximately 0.75% annual risk for patients with diabetes to develop foot infections. The mean duration of hospitalization was 22.5 days. Sixteen patients (3.6%) were treated conservatively without an operative procedure and 430 (96.4%) required some form of operative intervention. There were 885 debridements, 193 minor amputations and 60 major amputations, 7102 wound dressings, 2763 wound cultures, and 27,015 glucometer measurements. When the hospital charges were tallied, a total of US $13,922,178 (mean, US $31,216) were spent to treat diabetic foot infections in these 446 patients during 1 year at this hospital. CONCLUSIONS: Each year, the government of Trinidad and Tobago spends US $85 million, or 0.4% of their gross domestic product, solely to treat patients hospitalized for diabetic foot infections. With this level of national expenditure and the anticipated increase in the prevalence of diabetes, it is necessary to revive the call for investment in preventive public health strategies.

Microbial profile of diabetic foot infections in Trinidad and Tobago.

AIMS: To examine the microbiologic profile of diabetic foot infections in order to guide empiric antibiotic choices. METHODS: All patients with moderate-severe diabetic foot infections at a tertiary care facility were identified from July 2011 to June 2012. Culture samples were routinely collected before empiric antibiotics were commenced. Retrospective chart review was performed to extract the following data: demographics, clinical details, empiric antibiotic choice and microbiologic data. Descriptive analyses were performed using SPSS 12.0. RESULTS: There were 139 patients at a mean age of 56.9 ± 12.4 years. Mixed poly-microbial infections were present in 56.8% of cases. Of 221 organisms isolated, 64.7% were gram-negative aerobes, 32.1% were gram-positive aerobes and 3.2% were obligate anaerobes. Multidrug resistant organisms were encountered in 25.9% of cases and included ESBL producers (11.3%), MRSA (4.5%) and VRE (1.4%). Both ciprofloxacin and ceftazidime had good overall anti-microbial activity against gram-negative (68% and 62%, respectively) and gram-positive pathogens (69% and 48%, respectively). Obligate anaerobes were uncommonly isolated due to institutional constraints. CONCLUSION: In this environment, both ciprofloxacin and ceftazidime provide good broad-spectrum anti-microbial activity against the commonly isolated pathogens. Either agent can be used as single agent empiric therapy in patients with moderate/severe diabetic infections in our setting. Although institutional limitations precluded isolation of anaerobes in most cases, there is sufficient evidence for anti-anaerobic agents to be recommended as a part of empiric therapy.

Secondary prevention of diabetic foot infections in a Caribbean nation: a call for improved patient education.

Most countries have instituted measures to limit the complications of diabetes. We evaluate secondary prevention strategies for diabetic foot infections in a Caribbean country. We performed a prospective questionnaire study evaluating all patients admitted to tertiary care hospitals across Trinidad and Tobago from July 2011 to June 2012. Primary study end points were the number of patient-detected injuries and the time interval between injury and presentation. Secondary end points included the practice of regular foot inspection (≥2 foot examinations per week) for early detection and the use of self-directed nonmedical therapies to treat foot infections. There were 446 patients admitted with diabetic foot infections at an average age of 56.9 ± 12.4 years. Three hundred and fifty-six (80%) were previously hospitalized with foot infections and 226 (51%) had already sustained end organ injury from diabetes. There were 163 (36.6%) patients walking barefoot at the time of injury and 189 (42.4%) had footwear-related injuries. In 257 (57.6%) cases, patients identified their foot injury shortly after the event. Despite early detection, they presented to hospital after a mean interval of 6.2 ± 5.03 days, with 78 (30.4%) having tried some form of home therapy first. Overall, 190 (42.6%) patients did not practice regular foot examinations. There is room for improvement in secondary preventative measures for diabetic foot infections in this setting. Educational campaigns may be beneficial to educate diabetics on the dangers of walking barefoot, the importance of appropriate footwear, regular foot inspection, and the importance of seeking immediate medical attention instead of experimenting with home remedies.