A pre- and post-treatment evaluation of vision-related quality of life in uveitis.
OBJECTIVE
To study the effect of treatment on vision-related quality of life (VR-QOL) in uveitis patients.


METHODS
Interviewer-administered questionnaire-based evaluation of visual function and VR-QOL in Tamil-speaking adult patients with active uveitis at presentation and follow-up by the same interviewer.


RESULTS
Ninety-eight patients participated in this study. There was a statistically significant improvement in VR-QOL in all the scales following treatment ( P < 0.001). Patients with chronic uveitis showed better improvement upon treatment than patients with acute uveitis. The visual symptoms scale showed moderate gains following treatment (effect size 0.56). Persons with bilateral disease had poorer mean scores compared to those with unilateral disease. Visual acuity was closely correlated with VR-QOL scores.


CONCLUSIONS
The VR-QOL measurement has shown that it is sensitive to demonstrate the problems of patients with uveitis irrespective of their demographic profile. The scores improved significantly in patients with uveitis following treatment and have shown close correlation to visual acuity thus demonstrating that VR-QOL is effective in assessing the response to treatment.
Venkataraman
Arvind
A
Aravind Eye Hospital and Postgraduate Institute of Ophthalmology Madurai, India. chakraraja@gmail.com.
Rathinam
S R
SR
D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007194:India; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009883:Ophthalmic Solutions / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014605:Uveitis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology*
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D005938:Glucocorticoids; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D009883:Ophthalmic Solutions