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Aflibercept in clinical practice: Evaluation of the first 50 patients treated with antiVEGF trap for age‐related macular degeneration
Author(s) -
BARBAZETTO I,
SORENSON J,
ENGELBERT M
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
acta ophthalmologica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.534
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1755-3768
pISSN - 1755-375X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-3768.2012.3662.x
Subject(s) - aflibercept , medicine , macular degeneration , visual acuity , ophthalmology , adverse effect , surgery , bevacizumab , chemotherapy
Purpose To evaluate the short‐term outcomes after intravitreal aflibercept (Eylea; Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) injection in a general clinic population treated for neovascular age‐related macular degeneration (AMD). Methods This is aretrospective chart review of consecutive patients who received intravitreal aflibercept injection for AMD. The main outcome measures were mean visual acuity (VA), central macular thickness, presence of subretinal fluid, cystic changes and pigment epithelial detachment on optical coherence tomography (OCT). Results Sixty‐three eyes of 52 patients (mean age 81.2, range 59‐98years) were evaluated. Mean baseline visual acuity was 0.79 LogMar (STDEV 0.43)at baseline and 0.66 at follow‐up(STDEV 0.48) (P = 0.43). Mean follow‐up was 1 to 4 month (average 1.7). Mean baseline central macular thickness was 352 microns and improved to 257 microns at 3 months (P < 0.001) in patients who had at least 3 months of follow up. 39 patients (75%) were treated with monthly injections, the remaining patients were treated based on a “treat and extend” protocol. Treatment was well tolerated with no adverse events reported. Conclusion Short‐term results of aflibercept therapy showed encouraging results with improvement in OCT parameters. Patients who underwent antiVEGF treatment with other medications prior the use of aflibercept may stabilize but not further improve after short‐term treatment with aflibercept. Further studies are needed to assess the effect of aflibercept in patients who are not treatment naïve.