[Electronic clinical and surgical database of retina and vitreous diseases].

PURPOSE The purpose of this study is to build an automated clinical and surgical database which works with a computer-based program (software), where patients with 19 selected retina and vitreous diseases are included. METHODS Textbooks from both international and national authors served as a basic structure for the protocol. Specific articles related to each disease, extracted from scientific journals and from specific clinical database sources, searched on the World Wide Web (the internet) were used, as well. Data automation was done by interface with SINPE (Integrated electronic protocol system) - a software developed at the Informatics and Multimedia Laboratory of the Health Sciences Department at the Universidade Federal do Paraná. RESULTS Along with the data automation the master protocol was created covering all contents in main folders, followed by 19 specific protocols which refer to individual specifications for each disease. The program allows to collect and record data from patients with their clinical characteristics, diagnostic aids, selected treatment as well as follow-up treatment. Likewise, any source of interest in the protocol can be crossed with the Microsoft Excel program depending on the type of study. CONCLUSIONS The objective of this study which was to create a wide and updated database of vitreoretinal pathologies of major importance, converting them to a specific software and interfacing it with the SINPE has been achieved.