Abstract
Purpose :
To report 52 weeks treatment outcomes with intravitreal injections of aflibercept using a treat-and-extend regimen for treating macular edema secondary to central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO).
Methods :
Retrospective analysis of newly diagnosed patients with CRVO was performed. Patients receiving aflibercept between 1st December 2016 and 31st March 2017 were included. Data including age, gender, visual acuity (VA) measured on Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study charts, presence of macular and peripheral ischaemia, anatomical changes on SD-OCT and the number of injections needed were recorded.
Results :
The mean gain in vision was 17.8 letters (SD 19.1 letters) and 15.1 (SD 20.2) at week 24 and 52 respectively. The proportion of patients who gained 15 letters or more in BCVA was 52.9% at week 24 and 50% at week 52. The mean reduction in central subfield macular thickness (CSMT) was 331.5 and 311.6 in week 24 and week 52 respectively. For the patients completing 52 weeks of follow-up, the mean number of treatments was 4.9 ± 1.3 injections in the first 26 weeks and 3.2 ± 2.0 injections in the second 26 weeks.
Conclusions :
The Moorfields protocol for treating macula oedema in CRVO achieves a quick response to treatment without over or under treating patients with a fixed protocol. Overall, our individualised treat-and-extend protocol achieves real-life outcomes approaching those of clinical trials. As there are currently no such trials using this practically useful regimen, this paper provides real-world evidence for using a treat-and-extend protocol for aflibercept in CRVO.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.