Abstract
Purpose: :
To assess patients’ quality of vision after undergoing DSEK for Fuchs corneal dystrophy.
Methods: :
Patients at Duke University Eye Center who have undergone DSEK in at least one eye for Fuchs corneal dystrophy between January 2005 and January 2010 were eligible for participation. Subjects were recruited in clinic or via mail and telephone according to a Duke IRB-approved protocol. Subjects were asked to fill out the National Eye Institute’s Visual Function Questionnaire-25 (NEI VFQ-25) in order to provide a measure of their quality of vision. The questionnaire consists of 25 questions plus 14 optional questions which measure the dimensions of self-reported vision health status for people with chronic eye diseases. It assesses the impact of visual symptoms on patients’ emotional well-being, social functioning, and daily visual functioning. Score calculations were carried out according to a set VFQ-25 algorithm, with 100 being the best possible score and 0 being the worst possible score.
Results: :
113 out of 250 eligible subjects (45.2%) consented to participate in the study. The average age for DSEK patients was 72.1 years. 89.4% were Caucasian, 8.2% were African American, and 2.4% did not record a race. 64.7% were female and 35.3% were male. Out of a total best possible score of 100, patients who had undergone DSEK reported an overall VFQ score of 82.3. They reported a general health score of 69.9 and a general vision score of 76.4. Scores for near activities versus distance activities were similar at 78.5 versus 79.6. The score for activities related to social functioning was 92.5. Patients’ emotional well-being as affected by visual symptoms received a score of 79.2. Patients’ ability to fulfill daily roles received a score of 79.9, while their ability to function independently received a score of 88.8. Driving ability received a separate score of 72.4. Patients reported a score of 93.4 for color vision and 83.0 for peripheral vision.
Conclusions: :
Patient who had undergone DSEK for Fuchs corneal dystrophy reported satisfaction with visual function based on high overall NEI VFQ-25 scores.
Keywords: cornea: endothelium • degenerations/dystrophies • transplantation