Abstract
Purpose::
To evaluate the vision-related quality of life (QOL) in patients with pituitary adenoma undergoing transsphnoidal surgery using the Japanese version of the 25-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI VFQ-25).
Methods::
Subjects were 59 patients with pituitary adenoma undergoing transsphenoidal surgery, ranging in age between 20 and 75 (49.8 ± 13.4, mean ± SD) years old. They had no ocular diseases except for mild refractive errors. The VFQ-25 was recorded before and 3 months after surgery, and the influence of various clinical parameters was assessed. The VFQ-25 was also recorded in 81 healthy controls matched for age and sex.
Results::
Transsphenoidal surgery significantly improved VFQ-25 scores to the level of healthy controls. Statistically significant improvements were observed in subscales such as general vision, ocular pain, near activities, distance activities, social functioning, mental health, role difficulties, dependency, driving, peripheral vision, and total score (p<0.05, Wilcoxon signed-ranks test). The degree of improvement in VFQ-25 total scores correlated with the degree of improvement in Humphrey perimetry mean deviation in better eye (r=0.588, p<0.001), Humphrey perimetry mean deviation in worse eye (r=0.605, p<0.001), Humphrey perimetry corrected pattern standard deviation in better eye (r=-0.574, p<0.001), Humphrey perimetry corrected pattern standard deviation in worse eye (r=-0.683, p<0.001), logMAR best corrected visual acuity in worse eye (r=-0.34, p=0.027), critical fusion frequency in worse eye (r=0.541, p<0.001). Age and duration of ocular symptom were not correlated with the degree of improvement in VFQ-25 total scores.
Conclusions::
The current study quantitatively demonstrates that vision-related QOL in patients with pituitary adenoma dramatically improves by transsphenoidal surgery.
Keywords: quality of life