Three-Year Outcomes of Photodynamic Therapy in Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Polypoidal Choroidal Vasculopathy in Japanese Patients

Abstract

Purpose: : To investigate the visual outcome three years after photodynamic therapy (PDT) in patients with exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV).

Methods: : One hundred nine eyes undergoing PDT were retrospectively studied. Sixty eyes of AMD (AMD group) and forty-nine eyes of PCV (PCV group) were evaluated.

Results: : In the AMD group, the mean pre-PDT Log MAR visual acuity was 0.87. The mean post-PDT visual acuity was 1.19 after three years after PDT. Three years after PDT, the Log MAR visual acuity improved by 0.2 or more in 16 eyes (26.7%), but it decreased by 0.2 or more in 23 eyes (38.3%). In the PCV group, the mean pre-PDT Log MAR visual acuity was 0.63. The mean post-PDT visual acuity was 0.81 three years after PDT. The Log MAR visual acuity improved by 0.2 or more in 12 eyes (24.5%), but it decreased by 0.2 or more in 21 eyes (42.8%). In these two groups, the visual acuity was maintained equivalently three years after PDT (p=0.891 Χ2 test)

Conclusions: : In this series of patients, more than half of the two groups were able to maintain their visual acuity for three years after PDT. The long-term effectiveness of PDT for AMD patients is equivalent to PCV patients in Japan.

Keywords: age-related macular degeneration • photodynamic therapy • choroid: neovascularization