Vision-Related Quality of Life and Subscale Items Following Intravitreal Ranibizumab Injections for Central Retinal Vein Occlusion

The aim of this study was to evaluate the vision-related quality of life (VR-QOL) before and after intravitreal ranibizumab injections (IVR) for central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) and investigate subscale items of VR-QOL in detail. This multicenter, open-label, prospective study included 23 patients with treatment naïve CRVO and 22 age-matched normal controls. VR-QOL was assessed by the 25-Item Visual Function Questionnaire (VFQ-25) before and up to 12 months post-treatment. The VFQ-25 composite score and 12 subscales were compared between groups. The VFQ-25 composite scores in CRVO showed significant improvement throughout the treatment period compared with those at the baseline. The VFQ-25 composite score before and after treatment in CRVO was significantly lower than that in normal controls. The subscale items, including general health, general vision, near activities, social functioning, mental health, role difficulties, dependency, and peripheral vision, in CRVO were significantly lower than those in the normal controls even after treatment. Vision-related QOL was low in patients with CRVO before treatment and improved with IVR. Even after treatment, the values of several subscale items were lower than those in normal controls. Patients with CRVO require treatment aimed at further improving visual function as well as social and psychological care.