Abstract
Purpose :
The branch retinal vein occlusion(BRVO) has better response to VEGF inhibitors than AMD or DR and is thought to have a better prognosis. Among cases treated with inhibitors, we compared the cases switched to aflibercept and those treated with ranibizumab alone and examined the effects of switching by checking the vision and central macular thickness.
Methods :
We studied 26 cases which were treated with VEGF inhibitor for the first time from April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2018. They were treated several more times and observed more than 3 months. 26 cases were divided into 2 groups - 19 cases (6 males and 13 females) treated with ranibizumab alone and 7 cases (2 males and 5 females) treated with ranibizumab and then switched to aflibercept. The average age was 67.5 in the ranibizumab group and 70.5 in the aflibercept group.
Results :
The final visual acuity was 0.70 in ranibizumab group and 0.74 in aflibercept group. The mean macular thickness was 328 μm in ranibizumab group and 283 μm in aflibercept group. There was no significant difference between the two groups. Before switching to aflibercept, the average visual acuity was 0.56 and the macular thickness was 377 μm. There was a significant difference when compared with the final macular thickness.
Conclusions :
Considering the final vision which is equivalent to that of ranibizumab, it is concluded that switching to afliberceptis effective. In cases that ranibizumabis ineffective or shows weak effect, switching to afliberceptimproves the vision prognosis.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.