Impact of initial topical medical therapy on short-term quality of life in newly diagnosed patients with primary glaucoma.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the impact of initial topical medical therapy on newly diagnosed glaucoma patients using the Indian Vision Function Questionnaire (IND-VFQ33).


METHODS
The IND-VFQ33 was used to evaluate the quality of life (QoL) in 62 newly diagnosed patients with moderate to severe primary glaucoma and 60 healthy controls. IND-VFQ33 is a 33 item QoL assessment tool with three domains: General functioning, psychosocial impact and visual symptoms. The glaucoma patients were started on medical therapy and the QoL assessment was repeated after 3 months.


RESULTS
Glaucoma patients (mean age: 55.6 ± 9.6 years, range 40-77 years) and controls (mean age: 54.9 ± 6.7 years, 42-73 years) were matched with respect to age (P = 0.72), gender (P = 0.91) and literacy (P = 0.18). Glaucoma patients had significantly worse QoL as compared to controls at baseline across all the three domains (P < 0.001). 3 months after initiation of treatment, the overall QoL life significantly worsened from baseline with a decrease in general functioning (P < 0.001) and psychosocial impact (P = 0.041). Visual acuity in better eye significantly co-related to poor QoL at baseline (P < 0.001) and at 3 months (P = 0.04). In addition, the use of >2 topical medications significantly co-related to poor QoL at 3 months (P = 0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
Evaluation using the IND-VFQ33 revealed that newly diagnosed glaucoma patients have a significant worsening of QoL after initiation of topical ocular hypotensive therapy. This should be an important consideration when educating patients about the disease and its therapy.
Vishal
V
Arora
Shveta Jindal
SJ
Bali
Sanjeev Kumar
SK
Gupta
Praveen
P
Vashisht
Tushar
T
Agarwal
Vishnubhatla
V
Sreenivas
Department of Ophthalmology, Glaucoma Facility, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, New Delhi, India.
Tanuj
T
Dada
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005902:Glaucoma, Open-Angle / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007429:Intraocular Pressure / Q000187:drug effects*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009883:Ophthalmic Solutions; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology*; D014794:Visual Fields
D000959:Antihypertensive Agents; D009883:Ophthalmic Solutions