Patient-reported outcomes in patients with vitreous floaters: A systematic literature review

Seeking treatment for bothersome vitreous floaters is patient driven. To measure the impact of floaters and treatment on an individual's quality of life, patient-reported outcome measurements (PROMs) are essential. We review all studies using a PROM for patients with floaters. We evaluated content coverage against quality-of-life domains previously identified in other ophthalmic disorders, and against a qualitative study investigating quality-of-life issues in patients with floaters. We assessed measurement properties of PROMs using an extensive range of psychometric quality criteria. We identified 59 studies using 28 different PROMs. Many PROMs were not specifically developed for patients with floaters. Floater-specific PROMs were mostly based on content validation from an ophthalmologist or researcher perspective; two included a patient perspective. Using the outcomes of the qualitative study, we found that the floater-specific PROMs were narrow in their content coverage, with most items relating to visual symptoms and activity limitations. Testing the psychometric quality of PROMs was rare, and when employed mostly limited to responsiveness and known group validity. The remarkable high number of floater-specific PROMs reveals a need for such measurements in ophthalmology. Unfortunately, reporting on psychometric quality is limited, and content development is most often done without patient involvement.