ANTI-VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL GROWTH FACTOR THERAPY FOR NEOVASCULAR AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION

Abstract

To assess the effect of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor treatment on visual acuity outcome in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration presenting with very low vision. Retrospective analysis of electronic patient care record of 420 eyes treated with ranibizumab between March 2010 and June 2013. The authors classified the extracted sample into 3 categories based on the initial best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) as measured on the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study charts: 0 to 35 letters, 36 to 69 letters, and ≥ 70 letters. Best BCVA achieved in Year 1, and average BCVA over 36 months was computed. The neovascular lesion type, area of lesion, the presence or absence of hemorrhage, retinal pigment epithelium tear, and atrophy were systematically graded as was extent of fibrosis on a categorical scale of 0 to 4. Regression analysis was performed with the best BCVA achieved in Year 1 as the outcome variable and initial BCVA, person, and lesion characteristics as explanatory variables. The mean change in BCVA from the initial visit to the best-attained BCVA during Year 1 was highly statistically significant with an improvement of 9.95 letters. The improvement from initial BCVA to average BCVA over 36 months was 4.01 letters. Regression analysis identified atrophy and fibrosis as predictors of best BCVA, with the model having an r of 0.71. Our study supports the use of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor agents even in eyes with low visual acuity particularly when fibrosis and atrophy are absent and suggests algorithms to predict outcome for combinations of visual acuity and lesion characteristics across the full visual acuity range.