Vision related quality of life: A cataract study

Abstract

Introduction. Since 1996, advanced methods and new instruments for the assessment of vision quality of life (VisQoL) index (37 and 15) have been developed and applied at the University Eye Clinic in Novi Sad. Many researches assume that postoperative results should not be evaluated only by postoperative visual acuity, but also by subjective perception of visual function and the patients ability to perform everyday activities, i.e. by quality of life. Therefore, our clinical results were based on both parameters of visual function, as the most objective attributes for assessing outcomes of certain types of cataract surgery. Material and Methods. Based on the results of the Cataract Study in Vojvodina in 2004, 5.7% of patients waiting for cataract surgery were already blind, 16.5% had low vision with cataract on both eyes, and 57% of patients had monocular blindness. Results and Discussion. With improvement of visual acuity to 0.5 or higher, after cataract surgery in 96.5% of patients, the cumulative VisQoL 15-index changed from 59.3 to 95.5. Intraocular lens implantation contributed most to the significant improvement in the vision related quality of life. Our study showed that pseudophakic patients had better quality of life than aphakic patients, who had the same visual acuity and refractive correction. Difficulties in performing everyday activities, such as shopping, using the telephone and reading, were found in 12.7% of aphakic, but only in 3% of pseudophakic patients. Conclusion. Advanced phacoemulsification techniques enable operated cataract patients immediate vision recovery, better quality of life, and personal satisfaction with visual function in everyday activities.