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Examining Global Crises: Extracting Insights From the COVID-19 Pandemic and Natural Disasters to Develop a Robust Emergency Diabetic Retinopathy Strategy for Puerto Rico

In this critical analysis, we investigate the profound impact of natural disasters and pandemics on the care and adherence to treating diabetic retinopathy, a severe complication of diabetes requiring continuous monitoring and treatment to prevent vision loss. Our study also sheds light on the socia...

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Autores principales: Guardiola Dávila, Gabriel, López-Fontanet, José J, Ramos, Fabiola, Acevedo Monsanto, Michael A
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Cureus 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10577004/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37846348
http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.47070
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author Guardiola Dávila, Gabriel
López-Fontanet, José J
Ramos, Fabiola
Acevedo Monsanto, Michael A
author_facet Guardiola Dávila, Gabriel
López-Fontanet, José J
Ramos, Fabiola
Acevedo Monsanto, Michael A
author_sort Guardiola Dávila, Gabriel
collection PubMed
description In this critical analysis, we investigate the profound impact of natural disasters and pandemics on the care and adherence to treating diabetic retinopathy, a severe complication of diabetes requiring continuous monitoring and treatment to prevent vision loss. Our study also sheds light on the social and economic context of Puerto Rico, emphasizing recent emergency events that have exacerbated existing public health challenges. Through a comprehensive review of relevant literature from PubMed, Google Scholar, and the George Washington University Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library database, we identified 31 pertinent articles out of 45 evaluated, focusing on the effects of these crises on healthcare delivery, diabetic retinopathy screening, and treatment. The evidence strongly indicates that during such emergencies, barriers to healthcare escalate, leading to significant treatment delays and a reduction in diabetic retinopathy screening and diagnosis, ultimately resulting in deteriorated visual outcomes. Thus, our review underscores the urgent need for the development of effective emergency plans tailored specifically to diabetic retinopathy, particularly in Puerto Rico, where diabetes prevalence and its complications are notably higher. Such plans should not only incorporate established emergency measures but also harness emerging technological advances in the field of ophthalmology to ensure optimal preparedness for future pandemics and natural disasters.
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spelling pubmed-105770042023-10-16 Examining Global Crises: Extracting Insights From the COVID-19 Pandemic and Natural Disasters to Develop a Robust Emergency Diabetic Retinopathy Strategy for Puerto Rico Guardiola Dávila, Gabriel López-Fontanet, José J Ramos, Fabiola Acevedo Monsanto, Michael A Cureus Ophthalmology In this critical analysis, we investigate the profound impact of natural disasters and pandemics on the care and adherence to treating diabetic retinopathy, a severe complication of diabetes requiring continuous monitoring and treatment to prevent vision loss. Our study also sheds light on the social and economic context of Puerto Rico, emphasizing recent emergency events that have exacerbated existing public health challenges. Through a comprehensive review of relevant literature from PubMed, Google Scholar, and the George Washington University Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library database, we identified 31 pertinent articles out of 45 evaluated, focusing on the effects of these crises on healthcare delivery, diabetic retinopathy screening, and treatment. The evidence strongly indicates that during such emergencies, barriers to healthcare escalate, leading to significant treatment delays and a reduction in diabetic retinopathy screening and diagnosis, ultimately resulting in deteriorated visual outcomes. Thus, our review underscores the urgent need for the development of effective emergency plans tailored specifically to diabetic retinopathy, particularly in Puerto Rico, where diabetes prevalence and its complications are notably higher. Such plans should not only incorporate established emergency measures but also harness emerging technological advances in the field of ophthalmology to ensure optimal preparedness for future pandemics and natural disasters. Cureus 2023-10-15 /pmc/articles/PMC10577004/ /pubmed/37846348 http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.47070 Text en Copyright © 2023, Guardiola Dávila et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Ophthalmology
Guardiola Dávila, Gabriel
López-Fontanet, José J
Ramos, Fabiola
Acevedo Monsanto, Michael A
Examining Global Crises: Extracting Insights From the COVID-19 Pandemic and Natural Disasters to Develop a Robust Emergency Diabetic Retinopathy Strategy for Puerto Rico
title Examining Global Crises: Extracting Insights From the COVID-19 Pandemic and Natural Disasters to Develop a Robust Emergency Diabetic Retinopathy Strategy for Puerto Rico
title_full Examining Global Crises: Extracting Insights From the COVID-19 Pandemic and Natural Disasters to Develop a Robust Emergency Diabetic Retinopathy Strategy for Puerto Rico
title_fullStr Examining Global Crises: Extracting Insights From the COVID-19 Pandemic and Natural Disasters to Develop a Robust Emergency Diabetic Retinopathy Strategy for Puerto Rico
title_full_unstemmed Examining Global Crises: Extracting Insights From the COVID-19 Pandemic and Natural Disasters to Develop a Robust Emergency Diabetic Retinopathy Strategy for Puerto Rico
title_short Examining Global Crises: Extracting Insights From the COVID-19 Pandemic and Natural Disasters to Develop a Robust Emergency Diabetic Retinopathy Strategy for Puerto Rico
title_sort examining global crises: extracting insights from the covid-19 pandemic and natural disasters to develop a robust emergency diabetic retinopathy strategy for puerto rico
topic Ophthalmology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10577004/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37846348
http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.47070
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