Purpose:
To determine longitudinal rates of ocular complications after anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) treatment for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in a nationally representative longitudinal sample.
Methods:
Using the Medicare 5% claims database, diagnoses of neovascular AMD and anti-VEGF injections of ranibizumab, bevacizumab, or pegaptanib were identified from International Classification of Diseases (ICD-9-CM) and Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) procedure codes. 6,734 individuals undergoing anti-VEGF treatment for neovascular AMD (total of 44,772 injections) were compared with 6,734 matched controls with neovascular AMD who did not undergo anti-VEGF treatment. Propensity score matching was used to match individuals receiving anti-VEGF injections with controls. Rates of post-injection adverse outcomes (endophthalmitis, rhegmatogenous retinal detachment, retinal tear, uveitis, and vitreous hemorrhage) were analyzed by cumulative incidence and Cox proportional hazards model to control for demographic factors and ocular comorbidities.
Results:
At 2-year follow-up, the rates of endophthalmitis per injection (0.12%; p<0.01) and vitreous hemorrhage per injection (0.27%; p<0.01) were significantly higher in the anti-VEGF treatment group. With Cox proportional hazards modeling, the anti-VEGF treatment group had an 87.9% higher risk of severe ocular complications overall, and a 2.6% increased risk per injection, both of which were statistically significant (p<0.01)
Conclusions:
Rates of endophthalmitis and vitreous hemorrhage were higher in the group treated with anti-VEGF injection than in the control group, though nevertheless rare in both groups. The overall risk of severe ocular complications was significantly higher in the anti-VEGF treatment group.
Keywords: age-related macular degeneration • endophthalmitis