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Neovascular age‐related macular degeneration at treatment intervals of 14 weeks or greater
Author(s) -
Cornish Elisa E.,
Nguyen Vuong,
Young Stephanie,
FraserBell Samantha,
Guymer Robyn,
Squirrell David,
Barthelmes Daniel,
Gillies Mark C.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
clinical and experimental ophthalmology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.3
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1442-9071
pISSN - 1442-6404
DOI - 10.1111/ceo.13962
Subject(s) - medicine , macular degeneration , ophthalmology , confidence interval , ranibizumab , regimen , blindness , surgery , bevacizumab , optometry , chemotherapy
Background We assessed the proportion of eyes with neovascular age‐related macular degeneration (nAMD) in routine clinical practice that reach ≥14 week treatment intervals and their outcomes. Method We analysed data from the Fight Retinal Blindness! (FRB!) Project database, a prospectively designed registry of ‘real‐world’ outcomes. Treatment‐naive eyes starting vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitors for nAMD from 1st January 2006 were included. Eyes were defined to have reached the ≥14 week treatment interval if they received ≥2 consecutive injections at treatment intervals of ≥14 week but not exceeding 26 weeks. Outcomes were reported in a subgroup of eyes that had 12 months of follow‐up from reaching this interval. Results Of the 3907 treatment‐naïve eyes that started treatment during the identified periods on a treat‐and‐extend regimen and received at least 8 injections over the first 2 years, 402 (10%) eyes received at least 2 consecutive injections at an interval of ≥14 week during their follow‐up. Fifty‐two percent of these eyes maintained vision to 12 months, however only 40% stayed at this interval and 25% of the lesions reactivated. Conclusion We found that only 10% of eyes with nAMD were extended beyond a 13‐week injection interval and that over half had returned to a shorter interval by 12 months. Eyes that stayed at this extended treatment interval maintained stable vision. More data on the outcomes of eyes treated with intervals longer than 3 months are required to establish whether emerging VEGF inhibitors provide a more sustained effect than the currently available drugs.