Abstract
Purpose :
To evaluate the association between retinal thickness variability and visual outcome at 2 years in eyes receiving anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapy for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD).
Methods :
Sixty-four eyes receiving anti-VEGF therapy for nAMD were analyzed. Variability in spectral-domain optical coherence tomography central subfield thickness (CST) was calculated from the standard deviation of all visits after 3 loading doses from month 3 to 24. Eyes were divided into quartiles (Q) based on the CST variability values and the visual acuity at 2 years were compared.
Results :
The mean ± standard deviation (SD) age of the patients at the first anti-VEGF injection was 75.3 ± 9.4 years. The mean ± SD baseline visual acuity and CST were 0.59 ± 0.39 and 364 ± 113 µm respectively. A significant correlation was found between CST variability and visual acuity at 2 years (Spearman's rho = 0.54, P<0.0001), indicating eyes with lower CST variability having better visual acuity at 2 years. Eyes with the lowest CST variability was associated with the best mean visual improvement at 2 years (Q1: +9.7 letters, Q2: +1.1 letters, Q3: –2.5 letters, Q4: –9.5 letters; P = 0.018). No significant difference in the number of anti-VEGF injections was found between the 4 groups (P = 0.21).
Conclusions :
In patients undergoing anti-VEGF therapy for nAMD, eyes with more stable CST were associated with better visual acuity outcome.
This is a 2021 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.