Patients willing to undergo invasive procedures to treat vein occlusion

Most patients are willing to undergo potentially invasive procedures to treat vein occlusion with macular edema, a study found. The results suggest that such occlusions and edema have a significant impact on patients' quality of life, the study authors noted.

Margaret A. Chang, MD, MS, and colleagues administered the Submacular Surgery Trials Vision Preference Value Scale to 153 patients with retinal vein occlusions. They also asked questions regarding patients' enthusiasm for potential treatments.

The researchers found that patients with branch vein occlusions and central vein occlusions had similar average preference values. Having an occlusion for longer than 2 years and poorer last-recorded visual acuity were both associated with lower preference values, according to the study.

In addition, approximately 50% of patients were either moderately or very enthusiastic about undergoing intravitreal injections. Specifically, 69% of patients with branch vein occlusions reported being either moderately or very enthusiastic about the standard of care - laser photocoagulation.

Only one-third of patients with central vein occlusions were either moderately or very enthusiastic about receiving standard observation, the authors reported.

The study is published in the July/August issue of Retina.