Awareness of Retinopathy among Sickle Cell Patients

Awareness of Retinopathy among Sickle Cell Patients Shahad Alruwaili https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9162-1619 Yasser Aleliwi Shahd Al Mahfud Mohammad Alshehri Hamad Al Ghathber Abdullah Alamri

Background: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a haemoglobinopathy that is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern. Retinopathy is a complication of SCD, which varies from mild peripheral retinopathy to severe proliferative retinopathy that can cause loss of vision. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from June 2020 to January 2021 aiming to determine the knowledge of retinopathy among patients with sickle cell disease using a validated self-administered questionnaire. Result: A total of 166 respondents completed the questionnaire. Females constituted the majority of participants (62.7%). The age group 31–40 years consitituted 28.3% and were associated with higher knowledge scores. The average knowledge score was also significantly higher in respondents from the Eastern region (B = 1.82, P < 0.05) compared to respondents from Riyadh. The main reason for not having an eye check was the perceived lack of importance of visits among 56.8%. Conclusion: Sickle cell disease patients are prone to complications such as retinopathy which can be detected by frequent follow-up. Almost half of the studied sample showed above average knowledge of retinopathies related to sickle cell disease.
05 11 2021 73 80 10.9734/jpri/2021/v33i28B31540 https://journaljpri.com/index.php/JPRI/article/view/2374 https://www.journaljpri.com/index.php/JPRI/article/download/31540/59225 https://www.journaljpri.com/index.php/JPRI/article/download/31540/59225 https://www.journaljpri.com/index.php/JPRI/article/download/31540/59226