Abstract
Purpose :
To calculate and compare the average interval between injections of Aflibercept (AFL), Bevacizumab (BEVA), Brolucizumab-Dbll (BROL), and Ranibizumab (RAN) for patients with wet age-related macular degeneration (wAMD).
Methods :
All data was collected by the practice management of Retina Associates of Cleveland, Inc. Data was collected from patients who received injections of AFL, BEVA, BROL, and RAN from July 2020 through July 2021 and includes: patient number, injection service dates, injection service ID’s, procedure codes, and primary diagnosis. The patients selected were those injected unilaterally and diagnosed with wAMD, and the number of days between injection service dates was calculated for each patient. The data set was then organized by injection type, and the average number of days between injection service dates was determined for each drug. Statistical analysis was performed using a two-tailed t-test to compare the medications.
Results :
From July 2020 through July 2021, 10,789 wAMD injections were performed unilaterally with a total average interval between injections of 55 days for all drug types. Within the wAMD patient group, the average injection interval for each medication was as follows: 57 days for BEVA with standard deviation (SD) +/- 33 days, 54 days for BROL SD +/- 23 days, 54 days for AFL SD +/- 29 days, and 56 days for RAN SD +/- 25 days. When comparing the interval of each medication, the two-tailed t-tests calculated a p-value of p = 0.0003 for BEVA vs AFL, p = 0.39 BEVA vs. RAN, p = 0.0096 BEVA vs BROL; p = 0.003 AFL vs RAN, p = 0.99 AFL vs BROL; p = 0.05 BROL vs RAN.
Conclusions :
The results of the study suggest that BEVA seems to have a longer interval of time between injections for wAMD patients than BROL and AFL, but not RAN. There does not appear to be a difference between average injection intervals of BROL and AFL.
This abstract was presented at the 2022 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Denver, CO, May 1-4, 2022, and virtually.