Objective: To determine whether the visual function of patients with posterior vitreous detachment (PVD)changes between the initial visit and a 6-week follow-up visit, and to compare their visual function with that of patients with macular degeneration, cataract, glaucoma, low vision, cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis, or diabetic retinopathy and a reference population.
Design: Prospective cohort study.
Participants: All patients presenting to the Hotel Dieu Hospital Emergency Eye Clinic between September 2008 and June 2009 who were diagnosed with acute PVD were offered enrollment in the study.
Methods: Patients were administered the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire NEI VFQ-25 at two points in time. The composite scores from the initial and the 6-week visits were compared. The scores were also compared with established normative data and 6 ophthalmologic diagnoses.
Results: The NEI VFQ-25 composite score for patients with acute PVD (n = 84) at baseline was 93.26 ± 5.59 (mean ± SD). After 6 weeks and a second ocular examination, there was no statistical difference in the composite score of 93.47 ± 6.20 (mean ± SD). (1-sided paired t-test, t = 0.57; P = 0.28).
Conclusions: The visual function of patients with acute PVD remains stable over the first 6 weeks after diagnosis. It is significantly higher than that of patients with 6 other ophthalmologic conditions but comparable to that of a normal population.
Copyright © 2011 Canadian Ophthalmological Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.