Quality of life in glaucoma patients: Comparison of medical therapy, trabeculectomy, and glaucoma drainage device surgery

Purpose: To compare the quality of life (QoL) in patients with glaucoma on medical therapy and after trabeculectomy and glaucoma drainage device (GDD) using vision, glaucoma, and surgery?specific questionnaires. Methods: This cross?sectional study enrolled 30 patients of moderate to severe glaucoma, each in medical, trabeculectomy, and GDD groups. National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire 25 (NEIVFQ?25), Glaucoma Quality of Life (GQL?15), and Surgery Specific Questionnaire (SSQ) were administered, and cumulative scores were compared. Results: The mean age of the participants was 58.95 ± 13.6 years with a male preponderance (73.3%, n = 66). The mean scores (SD) in the medical, trabeculectomy, and GDD groups using NEIVFQ?25 were 68.97 (6.98), 72.83 (7.81), and 75.20 (8.77), respectively, those using GQL?15 were 20.63 (6.00), 26.23 (9.12), and 28.43 (7.74), respectively, and for the SSQ, they were 74.33 (8.75) and 72.10 (5.92) in trabeculectomy and GDD groups, respectively. NEIVFQ?25 showed a better QoL in the GDD group compared to the medical group, whereas GQL?15 showed a better QoL in the medical group and comparable QoL in trabeculectomy and GDD. Both these QoL scores correlated to the LogMAR visual acuity. SSQ scores did not show a significant difference in the QoL across both surgical groups. Conclusion: NEIVFQ?25 questionnaire scores provided a holistic measure of QoL. GQL?15 assessed the activity limitation and visual disability of the patients but did not take into account the general health and psychological factors influencing the QoL. We did not find a significant difference between trabeculectomy and GDD using the SSQ. For QoL assessment in medically or surgically treated glaucoma, vision?specific and disease?specific questionnaires should always be used in conjunction

Visual function and visual quality in diabetic macular edema treated by Conbercept / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

@#AIM: To evaluate the visual function and visual quality of patients with diabetic macular edema treated with conbercept injection.<p>METHODS: The average change of contrast sensitivity(CS), best corrected visual acuity(BCVA), central retinal thickness(CRT)and NEIVFQ-25 score were observed for 3mo after intravitreal injection of conbercept in 43 eyes of 38 patients with diabetic macular edema.<p>RESULTS: The mean CS increased from(1.060±0.14)units to(1.47±0.31)units at 12wk after intravitreal injection of conbercept(<i>P</i><0.05). The average LogMAR BCVA decreased significantly from 0.535±3.32 to 0.333±0.11 at 12wk(<i>P</i><0.05), and the average CRT decreased significantly from 369.45±36.42μm to 226.53±39.48μm at 12wk(<i>P</i><0.05). There is not a correlation between the changes in CRT and BCVA and the improvement of CS. The NEIVFQ-25 score improved in 30 cases(79%)from baseline to 12wk. 6 cases(16%)had no change in the NEIVFQ-25 score, and 2 cases(5%)declined in the NEIVFQ-25 score.<p>CONCLUSION: The treatment of conbercept injection for diabetic retinal macular edema can significantly improve the visual function and the quality of life.

The impact of primary open-angle glaucoma: Quality of life in Indian patients

Purpose: Glaucoma significantly affects the quality of life (QoL) of a patient. Despite the huge number of glaucoma patients in India, not many, QoL studies have been carried out. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the QoL in Indian patients with varying severity of glaucoma. Methods: This was a hospital-based, cross-sectional, analytical study of 180 patients. The QoL was assessed using orally administered QoL instruments comprising of two glaucoma-specific instruments; Glaucoma Quality of Life-15 (GQL-15) and Viswanathan 10 instrument, and 1 vision-specific instrument; National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire-25 (NEIVFQ25). Results: Using NEIVFQ25, the difference between mean QoL scores among cases (88.34 ± 4.53) and controls (95.32 ± 5.76) was statistically significant. In GQL-15, there was a statistically significant difference between mean scores of cases (22.58 ± 5.23) and controls (16.52 ± 1.24). The difference in mean scores with Viswanathan 10 instrument in cases (7.92 ± 0.54) and controls (9.475 ± 0.505) was also statistically significant. QoL scores also showed moderate correlation with mean deviation, pattern standard deviation, and vertical cup-disc ratio. Conclusion: In our study, all the three instruments showed decrease in QoL in glaucoma patients compared to controls. With the increase in severity of glaucoma, corresponding decrease in QoL was observed. It is important for ophthalmologists to understand about the QoL in glaucoma patients so as to have a more holistic approach to patients and for effective delivery of treatment.