Evaluation of a new quality of life instrument for children with infantile esotropia before and after strabismus surgery.

INTRODUCTION

Infantile esotropia impacts the quality of life (QOL) of children and their families. In addition to surgical treatment, QOL assessment is an important tool for evaluating treatment success. Thus, this study aimed to assess QOL before and after strabismus surgery using the newly developed Infantile Esotropia Quality of Life Questionnaire (IEQ).

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

A prospective study was conducted from September 2018 to June 2019 at the Ophthalmology Clinic, Hospital Pakar Universiti Sains Malaysia. Children aged 5-17 years diagnosed with infantile esotropia were recruited. QOL and clinical examinations were measured pre- and post-strabismus surgery. The comparison of QOL scores before and after surgery was analysed using the paired t-test.

RESULTS

A total of 126 children participated in the study: 63 aged 5-8 years and 63 aged 9-17 years. Strabismus surgery significantly improved the QOL scores in both age groups. In the younger group, scores increased from 68.00 preoperatively to 89.36 postoperatively (P < 0.001), while in the older group, scores increased from 78.07 to 90.21 (P < 0.001). No significant association was found between QOL scores and gender, angle of deviation, or stereopsis (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Strabismus surgery significantly improved the quality of life in children with infantile esotropia in both age groups. The IEQ tool is a useful instrument for assessing functional and psychosocial outcomes in this population. Gender, ocular deviation, and stereopsis did not appear to influence QOL outcomes.