Abstract
Purpose :
Anti–vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) treatments for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD), the leading cause of blindness and visual impairment in the United Kingdom (UK), require frequent intravitreal injections and monitoring. These can pose a substantial burden to patients, caregivers, and health care professionals. This study of routine clinical practice characterized long-term anti-VEGF treatment patterns for nAMD in the UK.
Methods :
This was a retrospective analysis of a multicenter electronic medical record (EMR) database that contains data from 9 UK National Health Service ophthalmology sites. A deidentified dataset was constructed from anonymized Medisoft EMR of patients with initial nAMD diagnosis in ≥ 1 eye between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2018, ≥ 1 anti-VEGF injection (ranibizumab, aflibercept, or bevacizumab), and ≥ 12 months of follow-up. Results are reported by anti-VEGF agent initiated; patients were able to switch anti-VEGF agents.
Results :
A cohort of 10,971 patients was analyzed (aflibercept, n = 4908; ranibizumab, n = 5699; bevacizumab, n = 364 [not reported]). In year 1, for patients initiating either aflibercept or ranibizumab, the mean (SD) interval between consecutive injections was 48.4 (21.8) and 46.8 (26.4) days, respectively, and the mean (SD) number of treatment visits was 7.3 (2.5) and 6.4 (2.8), respectively. For aflibercept, the mean (SD; n) treatment interval was 59.0 (27.4; 3523) days in year 2 and 56.6 (26.5; 1812), 55.2 (26.2; 899), and 52.3 (24.6; 409) days in years 3−5, respectively. For ranibizumab, these were 59.9 (29.5; 3128) days in year 2, and 58.7 (27.6; 1791), 58.6 (26.9; 1032), and 56.6 (26.4; 530) days in years 3−5, respectively. The mean (SD) number of treatment visits was also similar for years 2−5 (aflibercept: 5.3 [3.1], 5.5 [3.4], 5.7 [3.5], 5.7 [3.7]); ranibizumab: 5.3 [2.9], 5.5 [2.9], 5.2 [2.9], 4.9 [2.9]) for patients with available data.
Conclusions :
Overall, treatment patterns were consistent throughout the follow-up period and data from years 2−5 suggest that patients initiating ranibizumab or aflibercept maintained relatively stable treatment intervals, receiving anti-VEGF injections approximately every 8 weeks.
This abstract was presented at the 2022 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Denver, CO, May 1-4, 2022, and virtually.