The impact of penetrating keratoplasty in patients with keratoconus using the VF-14 questionnaire

Abstract

To assess the visual function of patients with keratoconus who underwent penetrating keratoplasty with the use of the VF-14 questionnaire. Fourteen patients (9 male and 5 female) with a mean age of 38 years (SD 13.59) participated in the study. All patients had keratoconus, confirmed by corneal topography, and all had previously undergone penetrating keratoplasty in one eye. Their mean best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) binocularly was 0.185 (SD 0.077) LogMAR. None of the grafted eyes had a BCVA < 0.300 LogMAR. Fourteen healthy volunteers, age- and sex-matched, also participated in the study as control subjects. The VF-14 questionnaire was used to evaluate the effect of the ocular status in the daily life activities of the patients. The mean VF-14 result for the grafted patients with keratoconus was 62.37% (SD 22.60) and for the control group it was 100% (P < 0.001). There was only a weak correlation between the VF-14 score and the binocular BCVA (r = -0.394, P = 0.163). The mean VF-14 result in grafted patients with keratoconus is indicative of low functional ability despite the satisfactory postoperative BCVA. The absence of a significant correlation between the VF-14 score and the mean BCVA indicates that the low functional visual ability in these patients is probably associated more with the 'perceived by themselves' difficulty due to their ophthalmological condition.

Microthin Descemet Stripping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty Versus Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty: A Randomized Clinical Trial

“…Our findings are in keeping with those reported by Ang et al [28] who also failed to identify a difference in visionrelated QoL outcomes between the UT-DSAEK and DMEK groups in the DETECT trial using the VFQ-39, concluding that both techniques are equally effective in improving QoL. This dissociation or lack of correlation between visual acuity and patient reported outcomes on quality of life has been recognized by other investigators as well [29,30]. The patient's selfreported ability or disability following EK surgery is an important outcome measure and has value.…”

Patient-Reported Outcomes in Keratoconus: A Save Sight Keratoconus Registry Study

“…1 Although visual acuity is often considered in other ophthalmic conditions to classify the better or worse eye and disease severity, corneal curvature is commonly used in keratoconus for this purpose 1,10,20,21 because a body of literature suggests that the impact of keratoconus on QoL may be disproportionate to visual acuity. 5,6,8,9,22 Furthermore, visual acuity in keratoconus may vary depending on the refractive correction used.…”

Quality of Life in Patients with Dohlman-Doane Type 1 Keratoprosthesis(Boston Kpro)

“…Currently, there are studies that indicate the validity of questionnaires to determine the quality of life in patients with visual impairment or undergoing to ophthalmological procedures, one of the most used is the VF-14 [13]. This tool becomes valid to measure the visual function in patients with corneal disease [8,[14][15][16], except for patients with keratoconus [17]. Also, the use of questionnaires to assess quality of life is well established in patients undergoing cataract surgery [18,19].…”