Browsing by Author "Van Zyl, L"

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    Primary health eye care knowledge among general practitioners working in the Cape Town Metropole
    (South African Academy of Family Practice, 2011) Van Zyl, L; Fernandes, N; Rogers, G; Du Toit, N
    Aim: The main purpose of this study was to determine whether general practitioners (GPs) in the Cape Town metropole have sufficient knowledge to diagnose and treat primary care ophthalmic conditions correctly, and to assess their own perceptions of their levels of knowledge. Secondary objectives included identifying the need for courses to improve the ophthalmic knowledge of GPs and assessing whether there is a need to revise the undergraduate curriculum in ophthalmology in general. Method: A cross-sectional survey was done. A questionnaire of 10 primary care level ophthalmology questions, including a self-assessment section, was sent to each of 140 randomly chosen GPs in Cape Town. Results: A response rate of 79.2% was obtained. Respondents included graduates from all eight medical schools in South Africa. Most of the responding GPs were practising for more than 10 years (78.2%). The mean test score was 52.5% (standard deviation [SD]: 22.2). The mean self-rating was 51.9% (SD: 14.5). There was no statistically significant difference between the test score and the self-rating score (p = 0.5840). Responding GPs felt that there is a need for ophthalmology up-skilling courses and 99.9% of them would attend such courses. Also, 82% of GPs felt that primary care doctors, not optometrists, should deliver primary eye care. Conclusion: GPs appear to lack sufficient knowledge to manage primary health eye care problems, presumably due to a lack of adequate training in the field. Clinical up-skilling courses are needed to improve core knowledge in ophthalmology.
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    Open Access
    The red eye
    (South African Academy of Family Physicians, 2013) Du Toit, N; Van Zyl, L
    The red eye is a clinical problem that is encountered regularly in most primary healthcare settings. A wide spectrum of diseases may cause a red eye. Fortunately, most are relatively benign, but many potentially sight-threatening conditions may manifest in a similar way. From the history and examination, the primary care physician must be able to differentiate between features that make primary care treatment possible and high-risk features that necessitate immediate referral. This article includes a discussion on features that distinguish benign from sight-threatening causes of red eye. Unilateral red eye, pain (a deep ache), deep redness, decreased visual acuity and photophobia signify more sinister causes. The red eye has an extensive differential diagnosis. Some of the common causes are conjunctivitis, subconjunctival haemorrhage, episcleritis, scleritis, anterior uveitis and acute glaucoma. Generally, patients who present with red eye can be divided into two groups: those who can be treated at primary care level and those who need secondary or tertiary level care. Other distinguishing features include a pattern to the redness, the type of discharge, the presence of increased lacrimation and photophobia, as well as corneal haze. However, these are not always easily employed as differentiating factors. Therefore, this article lists specific and basic features which can be used to identify the various causes of the red eye.