Vision-related quality of life in patients with infectious keratitis.

PURPOSE: To determine the vision-related quality of life (VR-QOL) in patients with infectious keratitis using the 25-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI VFQ-25). METHODS: Sixty-five patients with infectious keratitis (IK) were enrolled in the study. The NEI VFQ-25 scores and clinical and demographic data, including age, gender, pathogen, best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), and duration of the disease, were collected from the subjects. The subscale and composite scores were calculated and analyzed. Correlations between the VFQ-25 scores and the clinical and demographic features were also explored. RESULTS: The mean age of enrolled subjects was 48.4 years (SD, 16.2), with 44 males (67.7%). The microbial pathogens were viruses (n = 48, 73.8%), fungi (n = 13, 20.0%), and bacteria (n = 4, 6.2%). The mean scores of each VFQ-25 subscale ranged from 31.9 (SD, 28.6) for role difficulties to 92.7 (SD, 13.1) for color vision; the mean composite score was 58.1 (SD, 19.2). Significant differences in scores were observed only in the subscale of dependency among educational levels and in the mental health subscale and the composite among the three pathogen groups. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that VFQ-25 composite score correlated significantly with the BCVA of the worse-seeing eye, duration of the disease, history of operation (for IK treatment), and gender. CONCLUSIONS: Infectious keratitis has extensive impacts on patients and VR-QOL. The BCVA of worse-seeing eye, duration, history of operation for IK treatment, and gender contributed independently to VR-QOL. Early treatment should be encouraged to obtain better visual prognosis and VR-QOL for patients with IK.

A study to compare the use of fusidic acid viscous eye drops and chloramphenicol eye ointment in an accident and emergency department.

A total of 300 patients attending an Accident and Emergency department with ophthalmic complaints needing topical antibiotic treatment were treated with fucithalmic or chloramphenicol (chloromycetin). Their compliance and the incidence of side effects were assessed. There was a 70.3% response rate to the questionnaire. Of the patients 51.3% using fucithalmic completed the 5 day course compared with 37.2% of those taking chloramphenicol. However, no patients were found to have suffered as a result of failing to complete the course. The incidence of side effects was similar in both groups.