Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: Ocular surface diseases (OSD) affect about 15% of the population aged over 65. Numerous patients complaining about chronic OSD experience a serious alteration of their quality of life (QoL).OSD regroups a wide variety of diseases, for most of which existing treatments would allow effective symptom relief as well as high cure rates. Nevertheless the knowledge about OSD is still less than optimal. The differential diagnosis would require a long, detailed interview. Our work aims at giving the ophthalmologists an instrument to describe and evaluate their patients' quality of life as well as a comprehensive, reliable, yet practical instrument which can help them to make a diagnosis. Methods: The Patient Self-reported Ocular Surface (PSOS) questionnaire has been developed in French by a group including clinician experts and methodologists. The covered areas have been selected on the basis of literature review, the group experts' reports as well as patients interviews. The questions have been worded using patients' verbatim gathered during the interviews. The questionnaire has been tested in 5 patients. The questionnaire's pilot version has been validated during an observational study conducted with ophthalmologists both from private and public practice. Three clinicians from the expert group have made a blind review in a subgroup of patients in order to judge the questionnaire's validity as a diagnosis tool. Results: The PSOS is made of two sections: a QoL section and a medical section. The QoL part of the questionnaire covers the following domains: daily activities, visual function, work, social interaction, self-image, future and emotional impact. The medical questionnaire covers the following areas: symptoms, circumstances of onset, contact lenses, co-morbidity, treatment and satisfaction with treatment. The questionnaire has been well accepted by patients. Completing the questionnaire takes about half an hour. The pilot questionnaire includes 84 questions. More than 200 patients have completed it between September 2001 and December 2001. Conclusion: The PSOS questionnaire is now available for use in clinical practice to optimize the management of patients suffering from ocular surface disease.
Keywords: 536 quality of life • 353 clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: outcomes/complications