Vitreous Floaters Functional Questionnaire for Vision-Degrading Myodesopsia From Vitreous Floaters

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Medical Diagnostics
• Patient-Reported Outcomes

Background:

• Vision-degrading myodesopsia (VDM) from vitreous floaters impacts quality of life, but subjective patient disturbances are difficult to evaluate.
• Standardized, vision-related, patient-reported outcomes are needed for assessing disease severity and treatment efficacy for VDM.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate the Vitreous Floaters Functional Questionnaire (VFFQ).
• To assess the correlation of VFFQ scores with objective measures of vitreous density and visual function (contrast sensitivity).

Main Methods:

• A single-center cross-sectional study involving 169 participants with floaters utilized Rasch analysis to develop the VFFQ.
• Test-retest reliability of the VFFQ was assessed over 6 months in 24 participants.
• Correlations between VFFQ scores, quantitative ultrasonography (vitreous density), and contrast sensitivity were evaluated in 224 participants.

Main Results:

• The Rasch analysis resulted in a 23-item questionnaire (VFFQ-23) with acceptable psychometric properties.
• The VFFQ-23 demonstrated high test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.850).
• Significant correlations were found between VFFQ-23 scores and both vitreous echodensity (r = -0.752) and contrast sensitivity (r = -0.744).

Conclusions:

• The VFFQ-23 is a reliable patient-reported outcome measure for vitreous floaters.
• The VFFQ-23 correlates well with objective measures of vitreous structure and visual function.
• This questionnaire can aid in individual patient evaluation, population screening, and assessing treatment response for VDM.