Research Department Overview

Mission Statement

The KKESH Research Department is entrusted with the responsibility of promoting and supporting vision research and coordinating research activities within the hospital and in collaboration with other scientific and medical institutions within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and around the world.

Scope

The Research Department strives to contribute to ophthalmic care in the Kingdom and around the world through its participation in the following areas of investigation:

Prospective and Retrospective Clinical Trials

Hypothesis-driven prospective and retrospective clinical trials are conducted in each of the subspecialty services to collect specific information about the clinical course and therapeutic outcomes of common ophthalmic disorders in the Kingdom. In 2003, the Anterior Segment Division established the first formal research program for the systematic examination of a clinical area of concern. The Cornea Transplant Study Group focuses on graft survival and visual outcome after corneal transplantation, as well as the identification of risk factors that affect the prognosis. In the future, similar study groups will be established in the areas of glaucoma, retina, pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus, and oculoplastics.

Epidemiological Studies

KKESH has had a long tradition of conducting epidemiological studies that have provided useful data in planning the allocation of eye care resources in the Kingdom. These have included the National Study of Causes of Blindness (1984) and, more recently, the National Study of Causes of Blindness in the Elderly (1999). In the future, a new national survey needs to be conducted to reassess the current prevalence of blindness in the Kingdom, including the prevalence of congenital disorders, such as cataract and glaucoma; genetic disorders, such as keratoconus and macular corneal dystrophy, in young patients; diabetic retinopathy in middle-aged Saudis; and cataract, glaucoma, and macular degeneration in older Saudis. This information can be used to plan the allocation of resources between KKESH and regional medical centers, as well as to reassess the residency training requirements of the Kingdom to meet developing trends in ophthalmic disease.

Basic Science Research

Within the Research Department, increasingly greater emphasis is being placed on basic science studies, which are conducted with the support of external granting agencies such as King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST). Studies of genetic diseases of significance to Saudi citizens, as well as of neovascularization associated with diabetic retinopathy, are actively being conducted in collaboration with King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center. In addition, establishing collaborations with other medical centers in Europe and North America is still an integral part of the activities of the department.

Tumor Registry

The Tumor Registry was established within the Research Department in 1988 to catalog and review the incidence of tumor pathology being managed at KKESH. Demographics and International Classification of Diseases for Oncology (ICD-O) categories are systematically recorded for purposes of education, research, adjunct medical record management, and incident reporting to the National Cancer Registry of Saudi Arabia. Since 1983, the Tumor Registry has had a cumulative total of 3,072 entries, including 1,197 (39%) malignant and 1,875 (61%) nonmalignant tumors (as of 31 December 2005).

A separate database is maintained for the retinoblastoma cases that are jointly treated in the Pediatric Ophthalmology and Vitreoretinal Divisions.