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Recent trends of ophthalmic diseases in Italy: are official data reliable?
F Cruciani1, E Lombardo, B Abdolrahimzadeh
1Department of Ophthalmology, University La Sapienza, Rome, Italy. filippo.cruciani@tin.it
Purpose:
The aim of the study was to investigate the epidemiological trends of ocular diseases using hospital discharge forms as our data source.
Materials And Methods:
We examined official Italian Statistical Institute (ISTAT) data concerning patients discharged from ophthalmologic wards. Our analysis was limited to the years when ISTAT managed health service data (1986, 1990 and 1994); whilst currently this duty has been transferred to the Ministry of Health.
Results:
The diseases encountered most frequently were cataract, glaucoma and retinal detachment. Patients over 65 years of age represented 54% in 1986 and 67% in 1994. We observed a general trend toward shorter hospital stays (10.5 days in 1986 and 6.4 days in 1994). We applied an indirect analysis that included masculinity and chi 2 homogeneity that were aimed to evaluate results de spite the questionable reliability of ISTAT gross data.
Conclusions:
The results of indirect analysis (masculinity and chi 2 homogeneity, of data combined with the significant number of charts presenting incomplete diagnostic information strongly question the reliability of official documentation. The increase of hospitalisation for ophthalmic surgery and a higher average age of affected subjects were confirmed. We observed a reduction of mean hospital stay per admission, indicating a positive achievement in terms of cost reduction.