[Visual acuity, quality of life, and patient satisfaction after PDT treatment in AMD patients].
BACKGROUND
The efficacy of PDT to prevent the progression of AMD has been established. This study now assesses the patients' quality of life and self-reported satisfaction after PDT.


METHODS
All patients who underwent PDT during 2000 and 2001 at the University Eye Hospital of Mainz were interviewed using an AMD-specific modification of a standardized 82-item questionnaire on quality of life and satisfaction in ophthalmological patients. Different aspects of those parameters were derived as scores, which were then related to clinical outcome parameters.


RESULTS
During the period of PDT treatment, the median decrease in visual acuity was three stages in the patients examined. Patients who reported a subjective increase in visual function during this period showed for example a median "private flexibility" score of 1.86, and patients with the subjective impression of a decrease in visual function a median score of 2.71.


CONCLUSIONS
The established clinical efficacy of PDT treatment to prevent AMD progression coincides with an encouraging patient satisfaction after the treatment.
Institut für Medizinische Biometrie und Epidemiologie und Informatik, Universität, Mainz. krummi@imbei.uni-mainz.de
F
F
Krummenauer
M
M
Braun
H B
HB
Dick
D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010778:Photochemotherapy / Q000523:psychology*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000187:drug effects