Ocular diseases among pathologists and pathologists' perceptions on ocular diseases: a survey study

Abstract

Objective: The impact of visual disorders and color vision deficiency on the occupational life has been previously investigated by several studies. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the prevalence of visual disorders among Turkish pathologists and their perceptions on visual disorders. Material and Method:A survey composed of 14 questions about ocular diseases and perceptions to these diseases has been introduced to the volunteering pathologists or pathology residents, participating in the 23rd Congress of Pathology.Results: Ninety-three pathologists or pathology residents participated in the survey. Of the participants, 25 (26.9%) were residents, 30 (32.3%) were pathology specialists, and 36 (38.7%) were academicians. The mean duration for working as a pathologist was 15 years. The vast majority (%93.5) of the participants had at least one type of refractive error; the two most common disorders were myopia (77.0%) and astigmatism (64.4%). Sixty-four of the participants (68.8%) claimed an increase in their refractive error after working in the pathology department. Eyeglasses (56/87, 64.4%), contact lenses (14/87, 16.1%), or both (9/87, 10.3%) were used in order to correct the refractive error; however, only 31 of the participants (33.3%) preferred using eyeglasses during microscopy. While 65 participants (69.9%) never had conjunctivitis, 26 participants (28.0%) had at least one conjunctivitis attack. None of the participants claimed to be color blind. Conclusion:Conjunctivitis and refractive errors are quite prevalent among pathologists. Refractive errors were also found to increase during the pathology practice. Most of the pathologists do not consider visual disorders (mostly refractive errors) as a negative factor during their career decision making, except a color vision defect. Bulgular: Doksan üç patolog veya patoloji asistanı ankete katıldı. Katılımcıların, 25'i (%26,9) asistan, 30'u (%32,3) patoloji uzmanı ve 36'sı (%38,7) akademisyendi. Patolog olarak ortalama çalışma süresi 15 yıldı. Katılımcıların büyük çoğunluğunda (%93,5) en az bir kırma kusuru vardı; en yaygın iki bozukluk miyopi (%77,0) ve astigmatizma (%64,4) idi. Altmış dört katılımcı (%68,8) patoloji bölümünde çalışmaya başladıktan sonra kırma kusurunda artış olduğunu belirtti. Kırma kusurunu düzeltmek için gözlük (56/87, %64,4), kontakt lens (14/87, %16,1), ya da her ikisi (9/87, %10,3) kullanılmakla birlikte, katılımcıların sadece 31'i (%33,3) mikroskopi sırasında gözlük kullanmayı tercih etmekte idi. Altmış beş katılımcı (%69,9) konjonktivit tarif etmez iken, 26 katılımcı (%28,0) en az bir kez konjonktivit atağı geçirdiğini bildirdi. Katılımcıların hiçbirinde renk körlüğü olmadığı sonucu ortaya çıktı.Sonuç: Konjonktivit ve kırma kusurları patologlar arasında oldukça yaygındır. Kırma kusurlarının patoloji uygulama sürecinde de arttığı bulunmuştur. Patologların çoğu, renk körlüğü hariç görme kusurlarını (çoğunlukla kırma kusurları) kendi kariyerlerine karar vermede olumsuz bir faktör olarak düşünmemektedir.

Colour in digital pathology: a review

“…This finding is supported – amusingly – by a recent paper demonstrating that pigeons ( Columba livia ) had a reduced accuracy for detecting breast cancer in using monochrome images compared to full colour . Furthermore, a survey of pathologists by Akman et al . reported that 61.3% of pathologists interviewed felt that colour‐blind pathologists should not perform pathology – thereby indicating that many pathologists feel that colour interpretation is important in the diagnostic process.…”

“…Most commonly, blue colours appear more ‘washed out’ than others, resulting in the majority of colour defects in the elderly population being of blue–yellow type . While the effect of colour‐blindness among pathologists has been evaluated in a handful of studies, the effect of ageing on interpreting slides is unknown, and is likely to be more complex than simple physical visual changes.…”

Dermatologists and the Aging Eye: Visual Performance in Physicians

“…Eyeglasses were the most common form of correction (64.5% [60/93]); of those, 33.3% (31/93) reported using eyeglasses during microscopy. 5 The importance of visual ability in other highly visual specialties suggests that parallels can be drawn to similar practices in dermatology. Detection of cutaneous lesions might be affected by changes in vision, similar to detection of pulmonary lesions in radiology.…”