RETINA

LONG-TERM USE OF ANTI–VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL GROWTH FACTOR THERAPY FOR NEOVASCULAR AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION

imagePurpose:

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

By , ago

RETINAL TECTONICS AFTER MACULAR PUCKER SURGERY: Thickness Changes and: En Face: Displacement Recovery

imagePurpose:

To study visual function, retinal layer thickness changes, and tangential displacement after pars plana vitrectomy for epiretinal membrane.

Methods:

Retrospective series of patients undergoing pars plana vitrectomy for epiretinal membrane, with 6-month follow-up including best-corrected visual acuity, optical coherence tomography, M-charts, epiretinal membrane grading, and infrared fundus photograph at time 0 (T0, preop) at months 1 (T1), 3 (T3), and 6 (T6) postop (±1 week). Retinal layer thickness and tangential (en face) retinal displacement between successive times for the entire retinal surface and the central horizontal and vertical meridian were also measured. En face displacement was calculated as optical flow of consecutive images.

Results:

Average best-corrected visual acuity improved from 0.28 ± 0.08 logarithm of Minimum Angle of Resolution at T0 to 0.16 ± 0.25 at T6 (P = 0.05), best-corrected visual acuity improvement correlated with best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at T0 (P

By , ago

DIAGNOSTIC PATTERNS OF AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION

imagePurpose:

To characterize prevalence estimates by race, age, sex, and comorbidity (diabetes and hypertension) within the Medicare beneficiary demographic.

Methods:

In this US population-based retrospective cohort analysis, the Vision and Eye Health Surveillance System was analyzed for a 100% sample of Medicare Fee-For-Service beneficiary populations of Asians and non-Hispanic Whites between 2014 and 2018. Exclusionary criteria included beneficiaries younger than 40 years. Prevalence rate ratios, defined as prevalence rate for Asians divided by prevalence rate for non-Hispanic Whites, were calculated using multivariate negative binomial regression or Pearson-scaled Poisson regression, stratified by age, sex, and comorbidity.

Results:

A total of 21,892,200 Medicare beneficiaries fulfilled the inclusionary criteria in 2018. Of the entire cohort, 3.2% of the beneficiaries (N = 714,500) were Asian. For beneficiaries aged 40 to 64 years, Asian male (prevalence rate ratios 1.73, 95% confidence interval 1.64–1.83, P

By , ago