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.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	Choroidal neovascularisation; Visual disability; Rasch analysis; Visual function; Verteporfin
Research Division:	Biomedical and Clinical Sciences
Research Group:	Ophthalmology and optometry
Research Field:	Ophthalmology
Objective Division:	Health
Objective Group:	Clinical health
Objective Field:	Clinical health not elsewhere classified
UTAS Author:	Hewitt, A (Professor Alex Hewitt)
ID Code:	96469
Year Published:	2006
Web of Science® Times Cited:	13
Deposited By:	Medicine
Deposited On:	2014-11-06
Last Modified:	2014-11-06
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