[Assessment of the quality of life of patients with age-related macular degeneration after photodynamic therapy].
OBJECTIVE
To quantify quality of life (QOL) changes in patients who have received a single session of photodynamic therapy (PDT) for subfoveal choroidal neovascularization, secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and to identify factors that correlate with the QOL changes.


METHODS
The QOL changes in 88 patients with AMD were scored with the 25-Item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (VFQ-25) before and 3 months after a single PDT with routine ophthalmologic examinations. We used multiple regression analysis to evaluate VFQ-25 sub-scale scores and ophthalmologic findings in these patients before PDT, to identify impact on the effectiveness of PDT. We also evaluated changes in ophthalmologic findings influencing the QOL score.


RESULTS
The sub-scale scores for both 'mental health' (p = 0.02) and 'role limitation' (p = 0.03) improved significantly in all 88 cases, but only 'mental health' improved significantly in 34 cases in which PDT was effective. Multiple regression analysis in all 88 cases revealed that the factors contributing significantly to improvement in 'mental health' were a lower pre-PDT 'mental health' score (p < 0.01) and the presence of fibrous tissue (p = 0.01) before the PDT session. The lower the role limitation before PDT (p < 0.01), the more significant was the improvement in this score.


CONCLUSIONS
Although no baseline sub-scale score was identified as predicting the effectiveness of a single PDT session, the scores for both 'mental health' and 'role limitation' improved.
Kyo
Tetsuhiro
T
Department of Ophthalmology, Surugadai Hospital of Nihon University School of Medicine, 1-8-13 Kanda Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-8309, Japan. kyo@med.nihon-u.au.jp
Matsumoto
Yoko
Y
Tochigi
Kasumi
K
Yuzawa
Mitsuko
M
Yamaguchi
Takuhiro
T
Komoto
Atsushi
A
Shimozuma
Kojiro
K
Fukuhara
Shunichi
S
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D010778:Photochemotherapy; D011788:Quality of Life