Background
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been used in the treatment of choroidal neovascularisation secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This study prospectively investigated patients’ subjective change in visual function following PDT as treatment for AMD.Methods
Eighty-two consecutive patients receiving PDT in Tasmania, Australia, between May and November 2003 were recruited. In conjunction with a comprehensive clinical examination, the Visual Function-14 (VF-14) questionnaire was administered. Final follow-up occurred between February and March 2005. The VF-14 was scored by traditional summary scoring and by Rasch analysis.Results
Five of the 82 (6.1%) subjects recruited were excluded from analysis. PDT was performed on average 5.7±2.6 times per patient. Raw VF-14 scores tended towards being significantly lower at follow-up than at baseline (67.6±27.2 against 64.5±27.7; P=0.052), and did significantly deteriorate using a collapsed Rasch analysis (P=0.0102). Following treatment, 38 (47.5%) eyes had lost three or more Snellen lines of best-corrected visual acuity.Conclusion
Patients undergoing PDT typically report reasonable visual function. In parallel with visual acuity, self-reported visual function may deteriorate slightly after PDT for AMD, but not as much as reported in untreated AMD.Keywords Choroidal neovascularisation - Visual disability - Rasch analysis - Visual function - Verteporfin
The authors have no commercial interest or conflicts of interest in this publication