Abstract
Purpose :
Symptomatic vitreous floater is known to have a negative impact on quality of life. We performed prospective, observational study to analyze the duration required for the amelioration of discomfort caused by symptomatic vitreous floater, and to find the factors influencing the improvement of such discomfort.
Methods :
We enrolled 39 patients presenting with symptomatic vitreous floater and without a diagnosed ophthalmic disease contributing to the presence of vitreous floater. Depression level, perceived stress, self-reported vision-targeted health status, and the degree of floater-associated discomfort were measured with a self-administered questionnaire. Subsequently, the changes in the degree of floater-associated discomfort at 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months were evaluated. We conducted a multiple logistic regression analysis to identify factors influencing the improvement of discomfort caused by symptomatic vitreous floater among clinical and psychological parameters.
Results :
Symptomatic vitreous floater improved in 61.2% at 3 months, 61.5% at 6 months, and 69.2% at 12 months after the initial visit. On multiple logistic regression analysis, factors significantly related to the improvement of floater-associated discomfort within 3 months included the onset of vitreous floater within 1 month (p=0.015), male gender (p=0.047), and high VFQ-25 score (p=0.020). Factors significantly related to the improvement of floater-associated discomfort within 6 months included the onset of vitreous floater within 1 month (p=0.032) and the absence of new floaters in the fellow eye (p=0.041). The absence of new floaters in the fellow eye was significantly related to the improvement of floater-associated discomfort within 12 months (p=0.033). Depression level, perceived stress, and the presence of vitreous floater in both eyes at the initial visit were not significantly associated with the improvement of floater-associated discomfort.
Conclusions :
This study found that the short-term improvement of floater-associated discomfort is significantly related to the timing of the visit after the onset of symptomatic vitreous floater, and floater-associated discomfort persists when new floaters develop in the fellow eye. Additionally, despite the improvement of discomfort over time, symptomatic vitreous floaters can still cause ongoing discomfort at a certain level.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.