Abstract
Purpose :
To describe clinical and visual function characteristics from a retrospective study of a GA low vision population.
Methods :
New patients with GA without CNV in both eyes, and without other significant ocular disease, seen at our low vision clinic between July 2012 and September 2016 are included. Visual function measures were analyzed, including best-corrected ETDRS visual acuity, Pelli-Robson contrast sensitivity, and MNRead testing. Optos SLO/OCT/microperimeter testing was used to measure GA area and pattern.
Results :
91 patients met these criteria. 78% were women. Median age 86, with 17% younger than 80, 48% between 80 and 89, and 34% 90 or older. The median logMAR VA in the better-seeing eye was 0.47 (20/60), with 37% 20/40 or better, 47% between 20/50 and 20/100, and 15% worse than 20/100. The median difference in visual acuity between eyes of each patient was 2.6 lines, with 21% having between 3 and 5 lines difference, and 26% with 6 or more lines difference. Pelli-Robson log contrast sensitivity had a median of 1.13, with 45% requiring >=4 times more contrast than normal. For the 66 patients whose GA area could be measured, the area of GA in the less-involved eye had a median of 4.7 sq mm, with 32% having less than 2.5 sq mm, and 27% having greater than 7.5 sq mm. GA patterns for all eyes tested were multifocal in 27%, horseshoe in 15%, ring in 10% and solid in 47%. Median maximum MNRead reading speed in the 61 patients tested was 158 wpm, with 21% reading less than 100 wpm. 20% of patients had better reading rates at smaller character sizes than at the larger character sizes.
Conclusions :
These data characterize a low vision GA population, and can serve as a basis for understanding the low vision needs of these patients and for comparing this group to treatment groups in clinical trials.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2017 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Baltimore, MD, May 7-11, 2017.