Purpose: To analyze the benefit of photodynamic therapy in terms of quality of life in patients with wet age-related macular degeneration.
Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 33 patients with subretinal neovascularization receiving visual rehabilitation in a low vision clinic (ARAMAV, Nîmes) in southern France. Twenty had been treated with photodynamic therapy (PDT group) and 13 had not (non-PDT group). In the non-PDT group, the patients had been treated with thermal photocoagulation, transpupillary thermotherapy, or external radiotherapy, or had not received any treatment. Visual acuity, reading speed, reading endurance, and quality of life were compared. Two quality-of-life scales were employed: the VF-14 and NEI-VFQ-25.
Results: A significant difference between the two groups in terms of quality of life was observed. The VF-14 score (p<0.01) and two parameters (near activities and distant activities) of the NEI VFQ-25 were significantly higher (both p<0.01) in the PDT group. Visual acuity, reading speed, and reading endurance were similar in both groups.
Conclusion: Although no difference in terms of functional parameters was observed, photodynamic therapy could preserve the central retina and thus enable a better use of the residual visual function, which could explain the better quality of life perceived by the patients in the PDT group.