Low-vision services improve vision, quality of life in patients with neovascular AMD
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Key takeaways:
- Access to low-vision services led to significant improvement in vision and quality of life for patients with neovascular AMD.
- Referral to low-vision services should be encouraged.
NEW ORLEANS — Low-vision services can improve visual function and vision-related quality of life in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration, significantly reducing their visual disability.
In a poster at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting, David J. Ramsey, MD, and co-authors presented the results of a study conducted at Lahey Hospital and Medical Center in which the characteristics associated with referral and utilization of low-vision (LV) services were analyzed.
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Out of 560 patients with neovascular AMD, 110 were referred for LV evaluation (20%). Factors related to referral were older age, bilateral neovascular AMD and worse visual acuity in both eyes. Legal blindness was more common, and frequency of injection treatment was lower. People who were still working were more likely to access the LV services than those who were retired or not working.
“The majority of patients referred completed consultations,” Ramsey told Healio/OSN. “At our institution, 86% were served in-house, 94% in total when we account for some of them going to outside institutions in the Boston area with incredible low-vision resources.”
Ramsey said that more than half of patients gained vision, with 34% improving by two or more lines. The improvement in visual acuity yielded an average gain of 0.04 quality-adjusted life years per patient at a cost of $ 1,276 per QALY. The net monetary benefit was $1,704 for each patient who completed LV evaluation.
These visits lead to a significant reduction in visual disability and quality of life improvement at a reasonable cost, he said, and further efforts should therefore be made to improve the rate at which patients with neovascular AMD access LV services.
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Ramsey DJ, et al. Utilization of low vision services for patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration. Presented at: Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting; April 23-27, 2023; New Orleans.
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