Abstract
Purpose:
To measure the short term impact of a single intravitreal injection of anti-VEGF agents on the submacular choroidal thickness among patients treated for exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
Methods:
The patients undergoing a single intravitreal injection of ranibizumab or aflibercept for exudative AMD were recruited retrospectively. The sub macular choroidal thickness was measured with enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI OCT) before and eight days after the injection. The choroidal thickness was measured on 9 locations: subfoveal and nasal, temporal, upper and lower at 750 µm and 1500 µm intervals from the fovea.
Results:
Nine consecutive eyes, 4 right and 5 left eyes, of three men and six women were recruited. The mean age was 76.1 years old [+/- 9 years]. Five eyes were treated with ranibizumab and four eyes with aflibercept. At day 8, a significant increase of the submacular choroidal thickness could been demonstrated at the subfoveal (median: +16 µm, p= 0.0020) and the 1500µm upper location (median: 17 µm, p=0.0039). No significant variations were found for the other thickness measurements.
Conclusions:
This preliminary study suggests that there is a transient increase of the subfoveal choroidal thickness after a angle intravitreal injection of an anti-VEGF agent in exudative AMD which has never been reported before. These preliminary results must be confirmed by a currently ongoing prospective study.