Evaluating Measurement Properties of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in Glaucoma: A Systematic Review

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Health Services Research
• Patient-Reported Outcomes

Background:

• Patient-centered care necessitates incorporating patient preferences into clinical decision-making.
• Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are crucial for evaluating health outcomes important to patients.
• Routine use of PROMs in clinical settings, particularly for glaucoma, remains suboptimal.

Approach:

• A systematic literature search was conducted across six major databases.
• Included studies reported measurement properties of PROMs in adult glaucoma patients.
• Consensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) guidelines were used for assessment.

Key Points:

• The search identified 43 distinct PROMs categorized as glaucoma-specific, vision-specific, or general health-related quality of life.
• The Glaucoma Quality of Life (GQL), Glaucoma Symptom Scale (GSS), and National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI VFQ-25) were most frequently used.
• GQL and GSS demonstrated sufficient validity, internal consistency, cross-cultural validity, and reliability with high methodological quality.

Conclusions:

• GQL, GSS, and NEI VFQ-25 are well-validated in glaucoma populations and widely used in research.
• Limited data on interpretability, responsiveness, and feasibility hinder the selection of a single optimal clinical PROM.
• Further research is needed to identify the most suitable PROMs for routine clinical application in glaucoma management.