DR. APARNA K.S

DR.MANEKSHA V.

Abstract

Purpose: To assess the agreement between the diagnosis made by trained VC technicians and oculoplasty specialists Methods: Retrospective study comparing the findings of VC technicians and the oculoplasty specialists in the base hospital over a period of 1 year.The diseases were categorized according to location as eyelids (43%), lacrimal system (37.3%), orbital diseases(15.6) and others(4.1%).

Results: Of the 384 patients, 378 (98.67%) were confirmed having pathology.There was an overall 80% agreement between the diagnosis made by trained VC technicians and oculoplasty specialists; kappa coefficient 0.78(95% CI 0.76 to 0.80), with a p-value<0.001. Agreement was highest for diseases of the lacrimal system (90.9%, kappa coefficient 0.87), followed by eye lid pathologies (80%, kappa coefficient 0.77). Of these, 54.8% patients were managed with surgical procedures. Conclusion: There is good agreement between the findings of VC technicians and oculoplasty specialists.