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[Visual acuity, quality of life, and patient satisfaction after PDT treatment in AMD patients]
F Krummenauer1, M Braun, H B Dick
1Institut für Medizinische Biometrie und Epidemiologie und Informatik, Universität, Mainz. krummi@imbei.uni-mainz.de
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.
Material And 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.
Conclusion:
The established clinical efficacy of PDT treatment to prevent AMD progression coincides with an encouraging patient satisfaction after the treatment.