ONE-YEAR FOLLOW-UP OUTCOMES OF TREATMENT OF WET AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION WITH AFLIBERCEPT.

Abstract

To evaluate one-year follow-up outcomes of treatment with aflibercept in patients with newly diagnosed wet age-related macular degeneration (ARMD). Retrospective evaluation of treatment of 28 eyes of 28 patients with an average age of 74.2 years who were treated with aflibercept at the Department of Ophthalmology at Královské Vinohrady University Hospital. All patients were treated according to the summary of product characteristics (SPC), i.e. with an initial 3 injections at monthly intervals, followed by 4 injections every 2 months. We evaluated the change in best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) on Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) optotypes, and the change of central retinal thickness (CRT) with the aid of optical coherence tomography (OCT). The average initial BCVA value was 61.5 letters of ETDRS optotype. After the initial 3 injections, BCVA improved to 70.5 letters, after one year of treatment there was a slight decrease to 68.1 letters. Better or same visual acuity was recorded in 25 eyes (89.3%), a deterioration occurred in 3 eyes (10.7%). CRT was reduced from an initial average value of 360.9 µm to 253.3 µm after the initial phase and to 233.8 µm after one year of treatment. At the end of the observation period, 25 eyes (89.3%) were without signs of activity of the pathology. No complications of treatment were recorded. In our cohort we confirm the efficacy and safety of the aflibercept preparation in patients with newly diagnosed wet form ARMD. By adhering to a fixed therapeutic regime it is possible to obtain similarly excellent results of treatment in real clinical practice as in clinical trials. Key words: aflibercept, anti-VEGF therapy, optical coherence tomography, wet form ARMD The authors of the study declare that no conflict of interest exists in the compilation, theme and subsequent publication of this professional communication, and that it is not supported by any pharmaceuticals company.