Patient Experience with Anti-VEGF Intravitreal Injections in Neovascular Age-related Macular Degeneration and Diabetic Macular Edema: A Multinational Observational Study

Abstract

Purpose : Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) intravitreal injections are efficacious treatments for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) and diabetic macular edema (DME), but optimal real-world outcomes require frequent treatment and monitoring that can be burdensome to patients and hinder their ability or willingness to follow their management plan. This study aimed to understand patient treatment experience with anti-VEGF standard of care.

Methods : This observational study employed a cross-sectional quantitative survey comprising de novo questions, patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures and medical chart extraction. Adult patients in the USA, UK and Canada with nAMD or DME, and treated with anti-VEGF injections for ≥12 months, were recruited via 21 (9 USA, 6 UK, 6 Canada) clinical sites.

Results : Between January and August 2021, 148 (67 USA, 33 UK, 48 Canada) DME and 219 (98 USA, 54 UK, 67 Canada) nAMD patients completed their surveys. While 159 (43%) patients had a study eye visual acuity at most recent reading >70 approxETDRS letters, PRO scores indicated that patients across the two conditions had relatively high vision-related functioning (NEI-VFQ-25) and were generally satisfied with their current treatment (MacTSQ and RetTSQ). Eighteen DME patients (12%; 12% in the US, 27% in the UK, 2% in Canadian samples) and 9 nAMD patients (4%; 3% USA, 3% UK, 4% Canada) missed at least 1 injection visit in the past 12 months. Reported barriers were mainly related to treatment, clinic and appointment factors, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Half of the patients reported some level of impairment in their daily activities due to the treatment. Following treatment, the majority recovered within 1 day; however, a sizable portion (24%; 21% USA, 31% UK, 22% Canada) needed >1 day to recover. Among the working patients (N = 55), 34 (62%; 58% USA, 67% UK, 65% Canada) reported some level of productivity impairment in the form of absenteeism.

Conclusions : Despite high adherence and treatment satisfaction levels, patients reported impairment of daily activities, burden, and barriers related to treatment. In general, more DME patients missed at least 1 visit than nAMD patients. More durable treatments with longer intervals could further reduce treatment burden and address the current barriers faced by patients.

This abstract was presented at the 2022 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Denver, CO, May 1-4, 2022, and virtually.