Background: The assessment of patient's quality of life is not only of vital importance for clinical trials of new therapies but also becomes more and more implemented into daily clinical therapeutical decisions.
Methods: Different methods for evaluating quality of life are available. A well-known questionnaire for measuring global quality of life is the Short Form 36 (SF 36). However, in ophthalmology more specific instruments for measuring visual quality of life are needed. We review the usefulness of specific questionnaires such as the Visual Function 14 (VF-14) or the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI-VFQ) in their application to common ophthalmologic diseases such as cataract, age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma. Studies applying these methods were identified by a search in the Medline database.
Results: Several instruments to measure visual life quality in ophthalmologic patients are available. Internal consistency and validity are shown.
Conclusions: Evaluating visual quality of life is an important parameter for assessing ophthalmologic diseases and the value of different therapies. It is an important outcome variable in clinical studies. Furthermore, individual visual quality of life should be considered in individual therapeutic decisions and helps to assess the economic effect of current and new therapies.