Abstract
Purpose:
To identify treatment preference and influencing factors in patients undergoing anti-VEGF therapy for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) under real-life conditions.
Methods:
A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted with 108 patients receiving Anti-VEGF therapy for at least one year on a pro re nata regimen with monthly controls in a tertiary health care clinic. Patients were asked to respond to a questionnaire composed of 19 questions covering items such as anxiety, financial issues of therapy and treatment preference to anti-VEGF treatment. Data regarding visual acuity, number of intravitreal injections and period of treatment were analysed.
Results:
Forty-six men and 62 women were included. Mean time under anti-VEGF treatment was 35 months (range 11-83). The mean number of intravitreal injections was 19 (5-51). One eye was treated in 58.3 % of patients and 41.7 % of patients received injections in both eyes. Thirty- three percent of patients favoured a pro re nata regimen, 47 % of patients favoured continuous monthly injections, and 11 % of the patients abstained from the question of preference. The questionnaire from 8 % of the patients could not be analysed to a final conclusion.
Conclusions:
The majority of patients favoured a fixed dosing regimen with monthly injections rather than monthly controls with a pro re nata regimen. However the patients in this cohort did not reflect and consider on the risk of endophthalmitis.
Keywords: 412 age-related macular degeneration •
466 clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: treatment/prevention assessment/controlled clinical trials •
688 retina