Abstract
Purpose :
Vitreous floaters vary in severity, and it is often difficult to accurately assess the significance of vitreous floaters clinically. It would be useful, therefore, to have quantitative methods by which floater patients can be screened for disease severity. To this end, two self-administered questionnaires, one designed by patients called the Eye Floater Questionnaire (EFQ), were used to assess the impact of vitreous opacities on vision and quality of life. Correlations between the EFQ and the standardized NEI Visual Function Questionnaire (VFQ), as well as correlations with visual function and vitreous structure were performed in patients with vitreous floaters ranging in severity from mild to clinically significant.
Methods :
Seventeen eyes from 17 subjects (mean age=53±13 years) with vitreous floaters were evaluated with EFQ, VFQ, visual acuity (VA; Snellen decimal), contrast sensitivity (CS; Freiburg Acuity Contrast Test (FrACT); %W=Weber Index at a spatial frequency of 5 degrees), and quantitative ultrasonography (QUS; AVISO, Quantel, France), as previously described (IOVS 56:1611–7, 2015). Statistical analyses compared EFQ and VFQ scores, as well as correlations between the questionnaires and VA, CSF and QUS.
Results :
VA ranged from 0.40 to 1.0, and CSF ranged from 2.01%W to 4.12%W. Neither EFQ nor VFQ scores correlated with VA (p = 0.90 and p = 0.37, respectively). There was a positive correlation between EFQ and VFQ scores (Fig. 1; r = 0.689, p<0.003). EFQ and VFQ scores separately correlated with CSF, (Fig. 2; r = -0.509, p<0.04; r = -0.503, p<0.04, respectively). VFQ and EFQ correlated with QUS, confirming previous reports (IOVS 56:1611–17, 2015).
Conclusions :
Visual acuity does not correlate with any aspect of vitreous floater patient assessment. Self-administered questionnaires appear to provide useful quantitative assessment of the severity of vitreous floaters. The EFQ is a new quantitative measure of the impact of vitreous opacities on vision and quality of life that correlates with VFQ, CSF, and QUS. These questionnaires may be of value in patient care as a quantitative assessment of the functional disturbance and negative impact on quality of life induced by vitreous opacities. Further, EFQ and VFQ might not only be useful to screen for clinically significant vitreous floaters, but also as an outcome measure of the impact of therapy for vitreous opacities.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2017 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Baltimore, MD, May 7-11, 2017.