title: Influence of photodynamic therapy for age related macular degeneration upon subjective vision related quality of life.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been used in the treatment of choroidal neovascularisation secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This study prospectively investigated patients' subjective change in visual function following PDT as treatment for AMD.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighty-two consecutive patients receiving PDT in Tasmania, Australia, between May and November 2003 were recruited. In conjunction with a comprehensive clinical examination, the Visual Function-14 (VF-14) questionnaire was administered. Final follow-up occurred between February and March 2005. The VF-14 was scored by traditional summary scoring and by Rasch analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Five of the 82 (6.1%) subjects recruited were excluded from analysis. PDT was performed on average 5.7+/-2.6 times per patient. Raw VF-14 scores tended towards being significantly lower at follow-up than at baseline (67.6+/-27.2 against 64.5+/-27.7; P=0.052), and did significantly deteriorate using a collapsed Rasch analysis (P=0.0102). Following treatment, 38 (47.5%) eyes had lost three or more Snellen lines of best-corrected visual acuity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients undergoing PDT typically report reasonable visual function. In parallel with visual acuity, self-reported visual function may deteriorate slightly after PDT for AMD, but not as much as reported in untreated AMD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Royal Hobart Hospital, 7000, Tasmania, Australia. hewitt.alex@gmail.com
authors.forename: Alex W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Hewitt
authors.forename: V Swetha
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Jeganathan
authors.forename: Juanita E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Kidd
authors.forename: Konrad
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pesudovs
authors.forename: Nitin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Verma
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D010778:Photochemotherapy; D017319:Photosensitizing Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011166:Porphyrins / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D000077362:Verteporfin; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D017319:Photosensitizing Agents; D011166:Porphyrins; D000077362:Verteporfin