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Abstract #60974 Published in IGR 17-1
Impact of initial topical medical therapy on short-term quality of life in newly diagnosed patients with primary glaucoma
Arora V; Bali SJ; Gupta SK; Vashisht P; Agarwal T; Sreenivas V; Dada TIndian Journal of Ophthalmology 2015; 63: 511-515
PURPOSE: To evaluate the impact of initial topical medical therapy on newly diagnosed glaucoma patients using the Indian Vision Function Questionnaire (IND-VFQ33). PATIENTS AND 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.
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Classification:
1.4 Quality of life (Part of: 1 General aspects)
11.1 General management, indication (Part of: 11 Medical treatment)
