Abstract
Purpose :
The treatment of macular edema secondary to retinal vein occlusion (ME-RVO) has changed a lot for the last years with the approval of drugs such as anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF). The purpose of this study is to describe the clinical management of ME-RVO by Spanish retinologists in clinical practice.
Methods :
This was an observational, retrospective, and multicenter study. Forty-two retinologists collected clinical and demographic characteristics from clinical histories of adult ME-RVO patients and answered questionnaires about initial and confirmatory diagnosis, diagnostic tests and treatments/regimens.
Results :
A total of 194 ME-RVO patients, with mean (SD) age of 66.3 (12.4) years, 55.7% men, 100% unilateral, 72.2% branch retinal vein occlusion, participated in the study. Retinologists considered progressive loss of visual acuity (VA) to be the main symptom suggesting ME-RVO (>65.9%). The most common diagnostic tests used were ETDRS (95.5%), OCT (95.5%), biomicroscopy (93.2%) and fluorescein angiography (>68.2%). Time from diagnosis to treatment initiation was 1 month in most cases (>63.6%). More than half of retinologists (56.8%) used ME-RVO first-line treatment on anti-VEGF drugs (100% ranibizumab). Initial anti-VEGF injections (1, 2 and 3) were used by 34.1%, 6.8% and 36.4% of retinologists, respectively. Almost fifty percent (47.7%) scheduled bi-monthly follow-up visits during the first year post-diagnosis, extended to quarterly visits afterwards (38.6%). The mean ETDRS letters showed a stabilization or even improvement of VA after treatment, changing from 51.8 (22.7) letters at diagnosis to 60.1 (22.0) letters at first follow-up visit, and 61.6 (22.5) letters in last visit. A reduction in mean foveal thickness measurement by OCT was also observed: 512.1 (186.7) µm at diagnosis to 323.8 (111.5) µm in last visit.
Conclusions :
The results of this study showed similar criteria regarding diagnosis, treatment and follow up of ME-RVO by the Spanish retinologists in clinical practice. The treatments used achieved improvements in visual acuity and reduction in mean foveal thickness. The most frequent ME-RVO first-line treatment was ranibizumab (>56.8%).
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2016 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, Wash., May 1-5, 2016.