Purpose:
Although pivotal trials have demonstrated efficacy of anti–vascular endothelial growth factor therapy in neovascular age-related macular degeneration, there is a paucity of clinical data about the long-term (>5 years) treatment.
Methods:
Retrospective analysis of all patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration who were actively treated, had received >40 anti–vascular endothelial growth factor injections, and were followed for ≥5 years. Snellen-corrected visual acuity, initial drug choice, and times elapsed between treatments were collected. Rates of endophthalmitis and outcomes of submacular hemorrhage were also evaluated.
Results:
A total of 88 patients (162 eyes) met the inclusion criteria: the average patient age was 86.3 years with an average follow-up period of 7.6 years. The average total number of injections per eye was 69 (18.0 SD); a total of 11,208 injections were given throughout the study period, and 6 cases (0.05%) of endophthalmitis were observed. Overall, there was a clinical and statistical difference in average Snellen-corrected visual acuity at Injections #2,#3, #4, #5, #6, #10, and #20, as compared with baseline (P = 0.03, P