AMD Re-treatment Questionnaire Version 1.0

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Developing a tool to predict the need for re-treatment in age related macular degeneration

• IRAS ID

  291102

• Contact name

  Alexander J. E. Foss

• Contact email

  alexander.foss@nuh.nhs.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

• Duration of Study in the UK

  1 years, 0 months, 1 days

• Research summary

  Summary of Research
  Patients who have had active wet age related macular degeneration and then reviewed, initially at 4 weekly intervals for reactivation of disease. This raises two issues. First, is that it poses a significant burden on both patients and the health service. The aim of this study is to determine if one can predict the presence of active disease on the basis of patient’s symptoms by use of a questionnaire and whether a patient is aware of their own need for retreatment.\nThe second issue is that, in response to work pressures, patients are being seen “virtually” and decisions made on the basis of retinal scans. The question is whether the quality of decisions can be improved by taking patients’ symptoms into account. \nCurrently, Patients attend for a scan of a retina and then this is reviewed within 4 hours and on the basis of that review a decision is made as to whether to retreat. Accordingly, we wish to administer a broad ranging questionnaire asking about patients’ visual symptoms, when they attend for the scan and to determine if the answers can be used to predict the outcome of the retreatment decision. The aim is to develop a refined questionnaire based tool from these results and then undertake validation of this tool. Validation will be by reapplication of the questionnaire to a second cohort of patients to determine the positive and the negative predictive values.\nThis study is particularly timely as many patients are at high risk for covid (mean age of those having treatment is 78 years) and wish to self-isolate. The ability to determine, on the basis of symptoms, those who need and, conversely, those that do not need to attend would allow

  Summary of Results

  This was to be a two stage study. The fist stage was to create a symptom questionnaire to assess change in vision in patients with age related macuar degeneration. Following interviewing patients, a panel of 18 questions were developed and given to 59 participants.
  Analysis of the responses showed that they were all a measure of a single construct (vision) and that the number of questions could be reduced to 8 without loosing any significant information.
  The plan had been then to progress to a second stage to validate this on a second sample of patients. However at this point we obtained funding to develop a mobiloe phone app for patients with macular degeneration. The developed questionnaire has now been incorporated into that app and is part of separate ethics submission and so this study was declared ended.
  reduction in total number of hospital attendances.\n

• REC name

  North West - Liverpool Central Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  21/NW/0051

• Date of REC Opinion

  10 Mar 2021

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion