Abstract
Purpose :
Birdshot chorioretinopathy (BSCR) is a rare ocular HLA-related disease with variable clinical progression that may lead to visual loss. Our study examines the quality of life of BSCR individuals aged 80 years and above, providing insights into the long-term prognosis of the disease.
Methods :
Our study utilized the data from the CO-BIRD cohort (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05153057) conducted at Hôpital Cochin in Paris, France, focusing on patients aged 80 years and older. The main outcome was the vision-related quality of life in this group using the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire-25 (NEI VFQ-25). We analyzed if the better eye’s best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and the mean deviation (MD) of the visual field influenced the total NEI VFQ-25 score. Moreover, we assessed the effect of the presence or absence of specific visual symptoms on the composite score. To establish relationships, Spearman correlation was used for the composite score with BCVA and MD, and Wilcox test for the composite score and the presence or absence of specific symptoms.
Results :
We included 35 patients with a mean age of 83.9±3.7 years. The composite score had a mean value of 58±30 and a median of 75 (23–79). The lowest subscores were observed for driving capacity (38±38), mental health (49±33), and role difficulties (50±35), and the highest for ocular pain (70±25) and social function (70±38). Patients with a best eye decimal BCVA below 0.5 and MD below -6dB were associated with significantly lower VFQ-25 subscores (Figure 1). Strong correlation was observed between BCVA and MD with the composite score (R2=0.45 and R2=0.42 respectively). Additionally, the presence of poor color vision and blurry vision, was significantly associated to a lower composite score, while metamorphopsia, vibrating vision, and floaters were not.
Conclusions :
Our study shows that most BSCR patients over 80 years maintain adequate vision for daily activities, with complete vision loss being rare. The high standard deviation and the wide range of composite score reflects the heterogeneity among elder BSCR patients. The study highlights the importance of central and peripheral vision in daily life, with lower BCVA and MD values linked to reduced VFQ-25 scores.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.