Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: To evaluate the prevalence of quality of life and other measures in glaucoma surgical studies in the ophthalmic literature. Methods: A descriptive series of ninety-three published studies was performed. Eligible studies included those studies found in a Medline search of glaucoma surgical studies from January 2000 through September 2001. The selection of articles was limited to all those written in English, having enrolled at least 20 humans, and able to be found in the Wills Eye Hospital library. Studies were evaluated for mean follow-up and range of follow-up, pre- and post-operative intraocular pressure (IOP), mean change in IOP, pre- and post-operative visual acuity (VA), mean change in VA, pre- and post-operative visual field, change in visual field, pre-and post-operative optic nerve appearance, and intra- and post-operative complications. Whether the studies addressed other important clinical outcome measures associated with visual function including quality of life was also assessed. Results: Mean follow-up and range of follow-up were present in 68.8% and 98.9% of studies respectively. 87.1% of studies presented pre- and post-operative IOP. 78.5% included mean change in IOP. Pre- and post-op VA was documented in 89.2% and 81.7% of studies. A mean change in VA was recorded in 19.4% of studies. Pre- and post-op visual fields and difference in visual fields were noted in 26.9%, 18.3%, and 17.2% of studies respectively, while optic nerve appearance pre- and post-op was recorded in 35.5% and 16.1% of studies. Intraoperative complications were noted in 16.1% studies while post-op complications were recorded in 80.6%. 78.5% of studies mentioned clinical significance of outcomes. 5.4% mentioned the effect of the study's intervention on the patient's quality of life, and 1.1% included a measure of visual function. Conclusion: This study shows that investigations of glaucoma surgery concern themselves largely with IOP, less with measures of functional optic nerve damage and almost not at all with quality of life.
Keywords: 536 quality of life • 354 clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: prevalence/incidence