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We conducted our screenings with the involvement of 816 patients from 33 general practices (GP). After the first screening, the patients were divided into two larger groups according to risk and diagnostic difficulties, the light and murky zones, and within that into two subgroups each. The light zone included patients who presented no diagnostic difficulties for GPs, and the murky zone included patients who were difficult to diagnose with the GP's tools. The aim of the screening was to test an easy and fast screening method on a large sample, as well as to assess the occurrence and severity of LEAD and CI.
In the examined population, the proportion of clear LEAD-positive patients was 23%, and in addition, nearly 25% were in the murky zone. We invited the patients back for a follow-up examination 1 year later, to examine how the groups were developing, and by involving a specialist control, we looked for the answer on how the results we obtained with the tools of GPs correspond to the diagnoses obtained with the more sophisticated tools of specialists.
The control tests proved that the screening method we tested is capable of effectively screening out affected and at-risk patients. It has exceptionally good specificity and sensitivity for patients in the light zone, and similarly encouraging results were obtained in the two groups of the murky zone.
Another important result of the screening was a significant increase in the prescription of risk-reducing therapies, as the screened patients were also referred to several specialist clinics through the GPs. During the first screening, several patients were screened for other chronic co-morbidities, so the screening, in addition to the targeted screening of LEAD, can also be extremely important in the follow-up of associated chronic diseases. Using this method can be particularly important in those regions of Hungary where specialist help is difficult to reach. This screening enables early detection, thanks to which therapeutic interventions and risk-reducing prevention can be started in time, which in the long term can significantly improve the morbidity and mortality indicators of LEAD, improve the quality of life and life prospects of patients, and reduce the burden on the care system.
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