Abstract
Purpose :
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of treatment with aflibercept administered intravitreally in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration after first year of treatment.
Methods :
A prospective clinical study was conducted on 90 eyes of patients (age 56-89 years old, 50 F, 40 M) who were diagnosed with choroidal neovascularisation (CNV) due to wet AMD. Before each injection best corrected visual acuity(BCVA) on Snellen chart converted then to ETDRS scale for statistical purposes and central retinal thickness (CRT) using optical coherence tomography (OCT) were assesed. All patients received 3 doses of 2,0 mg intravitreal aflibercept every 4 weeks, followed by aflibercept injections every 2 months. Primary endpoint was the evaluation of best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and change of CRT measured in OCT 3 months and 1 year after treatment with aflibercept comparing with BCVA and OCT at the baseline. The influence of following factors on therapeutic success with aflibercept was investigated: CNV type, lens status (pseudophakic vs phakic), patient’s age, sex and the fact if patient was previously receiving anty-VEGF injections.
Results :
After first year of treatment with aflibercept the statistically significant improvement of mean BCVA was observed. The patients gained +2,47 letters (Z=-1,989; p<0,05) after 3 months and +9,29 letters (Z=-6,812; p<0,001) in ETDRS scale after 52 weeks of treatment. Moreover the statistical significant reduction of CRT in OCT was observed. The mean CRT decreased from 370,38 μm to 300,76μm after 52 weeks of treatment (p<0,001). Intravitreal injections were well tolerated and no serious local or general adverse events were recorded. The baseline visual acuity was the most important predictor for final BCVA after the treatment (r=-0,421; p<0,01). The subtype of CNV, patient`s sex, lens status (phakic vs pseudophakic) and therapy type (previous anty-VEGF treatment vs treatment-naïve patients) did not correlate with final BCVA and CRT.
Conclusions :
The intravitreal therapy with aflibercept is effective and safe for treating patients with wet AMD in routine daily practice. The obtained results proves the efficacy of treatment with aflibercept in patients with wet AMD and indicate the importance of early diagnose and treatment implementation to obtain the best functional and morphological results.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.