Frequency of Direct Funduscopy Upon Initial Encounters for Patients with Headaches, Altered Mental Status, and Visual Changes: A Pilot Study.

Objective: To determine the performance of direct funduscopy (DF) as part of the initial clinical assessment among different faculty physicians and residents from internal medicine, emergency medicine, and neurology (N).

Methods: Retrospective study of 163 randomly reviewed charts of patients (>18 years) presenting either to the ED, inpatient units, or outpatient clinics from January 2001 to July 2013, with corresponding ICD-9 codes for headaches, altered mental status, and visual changes.

Results: Although the Neurology Service was the one who performed most DF upon initial evaluation, DF is infrequently done throughout services independent of inpatient or outpatient location.