Quality of life after postoperative endophthalmitis

Purpose: The aim of this study is to determine if postoperative endophthalmitis adversely affects quality of life after cataract surgery. Methods: We compared quality of life in patients who developed endophthalmitis after cataract surgery between 1 January and 31 December 2003 with those who had uncomplicated surgery. The National Eye Institute VFQ-25 (VFQ-25) and EuroQol EQ-5D (EQ-5D) questionnaires and time trade-off utility scores were used to compare self-perceived general health and vision-related quality of life between groups. Linear regression was used to model differences between groups after adjusting for age, gender and visual acuity in the better eye. Results: Nineteen postoperative endophthalmitis cases were compared with 30 who had uncomplicated cataract surgery. Following surgery the mean composite VFQ-25 score was 13.5% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 6.0-26.4, P < 0.01) lower in endophthalmitis cases. Endophthalmitis patients reported significantly lower (P < 0.05) general vision, near vision, peripheral vision, mental health and role difficulties subscales scores after adjusting for age, sex and visual acuity. No significant differences were found in other subscales. Mean time trade-off utility and all EQ-5D scores were similar except for mobility (95% CI: 0.04-0.68, P < 0.05). Conclusions: Endophthalmitis after cataract surgery negatively impacts on self-perceived vision-related quality of life, resulting in poorer psychological well-being and ability to maintain a role in daily life.