Vision-Related Quality of Life After Vitrectomy: Cross-Sectional Study from Jordan

BACKGROUND: In the era of patient-centered medical care, using objective clinical measures to assess patient-centered outcomes in all aspects became a necessity, and pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) is a major ophthalmic surgical procedure used for the treatment of vitreoretinal disorders aiming to improve their vision-related quality of life. PURPOSE: To study the impact of PPV on visual quality of life by assessing its effect on common daily activities, to assess its association with various factors, and to explore the relations between these factors and postoperative visual function. METHODS: Vision-related quality of life for 87 patients who underwent PPV was assessed using the 25-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI VFQ-25) by phone call interviews. Variables assessed include age, gender, indication of surgery, duration since surgery, preoperative best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), postoperative BCVA, fellow eye BCVA, medical history and lens status. RESULTS: The factors significantly affecting the total score were postoperative visual acuity and fellow eye VA. Upon analyzing the effect of the indication on total score, a significant difference was found with the highest being for those who had dropped lens as the indication for surgery and the lowest was for those with tractional retinal detachment (TRDs) and inflammatory indications. Subscale analysis and visual acuity improvement were also varying between indications. CONCLUSION: VRQOL significantly improves after PPV, the improvement is variable with different indications, being the greatest for those with dropped lens and the least for TRDs and endophthalmitis, with postoperative VA being the most important factor affecting the VRQOL score.