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Poor anti-VEGF response may be linked to obstructive sleep apnea in patients with AMD, DME
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Patients with exudative age-related macular degeneration or diabetic macular edema who responded poorly to anti-VEGF therapy may have an elevated risk of obstructive sleep apnea, according to a study.
The case-control study included 103 patients diagnosed with AMD and 77 patients diagnosed with DME. A control group comprised 100 volunteers.
Patients with AMD or DME underwent as-needed injections of Avastin (bevacizumab, Genentech). Criteria for re-injection were loss of visual acuity of more than five letters, evidence of macular fluid, increase in central macular thickness of at least 100 µm, new macular hemorrhage, classic choroidal neovascularization or evidence of persistent fluid at 1 month. All patients were examined every 6 weeks for at least 1 year.
Fifty-six AMD patients (54.37%) had non-exudative AMD, and 47 AMD patients (45.63%) had exudative AMD. Among the 47 patients with exudative AMD, 14 (29.79%) responded poorly to anti-VEGF therapy and had a significantly higher risk of obstructive sleep apnea (P < .05).
In the DME group, among 30 patients with cystoid macular edema, a higher number of injections was significantly associated with an increased risk of obstructive sleep apnea (P < .05).
Disclosure: The authors have no relevant financial disclosures.
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