Validation and test characteristics of a 10-item neuro-ophthalmic supplement to the NEI-VFQ-25

center dot PURPOSE: To determine whether a 10-Item Neuro, Ophthalmic Supplement increases the capacity of the 25,Item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI-VFQ-25) to capture self,reported visual dysfunction in patients with neuro,ophthalmologic disorders. center dot DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey to examine the characteristics of a 10-Item Neuro,Ophthalmic Supplement to the 25-Item NEI-VFQ-25 in a cohort of patients with neuro,ophthalmologic disorders. center dot METHODS: The 104tem Neuro-Ophthalmic Supplement was designed previously by our research group by survey and focus-group methods. In the present study, the NEI-VFQ-25 and 10-Item Supplement were administered concurrently to patients and disease-free control subjects. High,contrast visual acuities with patient usual distance correction were measured with the use of Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) charts. center dot RESULTS: Diagnoses for patients (n = 215) included optic neuritis, multiple sclerosis, idiopathic intracranial hypertension, ischemic optic neuropathy, stroke, ocular myasthenia gravis, ocular motor palsies, and thyroid eye disease. Scores for the 10-Item Supplement had a significant capacity to distinguish patients vs disease-free control subjects that was independent of the NEI-VFQ-25 composite score (odds ratio in favor of patient vs control status for 10-point worsening in Supplement scores: 2.7 [95% confidence interval [CI], 1.6, 4.6]; P <.001, logistic regression models that account for NEI-VFQ-25 composite score, age, and gender). Patients with visual dysfunction (binocular Snellen equivalents worse than 20/20) had significantly lower mean scores (9-21 points lower); these differences remained significant after accounting for age and gender (P >=.001, linear regression). Supplement items and composite scores demonstrated appropriate degrees of internal consistency reliability. center dot CONCLUSION: The 10-Item Neuro-Ophthalmic Supplement demonstrates a capacity to capture self-reported visual dysfunction beyond that of the NEI-VFQ-25 alone, which supports validity for this new scale. The use of the 10-Item Supplement in clinical trials and epidemiologic studies will examine its capacity to demonstrate treatment effects in longitudinal cohorts.