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Ziv-aflibercept improves visual acuity, macular thickness in refractory DME
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Patients with refractory diabetic macular edema treated with ziv-aflibercept experienced improved visual acuity and macular thickness, with no adverse ocular or systemic side effects reported in the retrospective case series.
The case series included 34 eyes of 26 patients who had been switched to Zaltrap (ziv-aflibercept, Sanofi-Aventis/Regeneron) to treat refractory DME. All patients had previously received injections of anti-VEGF therapy. Patients received an average of 2.03 injections of ziv-aflibercept after switching treatments.
There was no statistically significant difference in visual acuity from before the switch and 1 month after the first injection, but there was a statistically significant improvement in visual acuity at the second and third post-switch visits (P = .084 and P = .023). Mean visual acuity at baseline was 0.63 logMAR, which improved to 0.46 logMAR after the second visit and 0.32 logMAR at the final visit.
Macular thickness at baseline was 513.79 µm but improved to 411.79 µm at the first visit after the switch (P = .006) and 426.76 µm at the second visit (P = .029).
“Ziv-aflibercept was estimated by Mansour et al to cost, per injection, approximately as much as bevacizumab. This would make ziv-aflibercept the more economically preferable drug for countries where insurance coverage is lacking,” the researchers wrote. – by Robert Linnehan
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.
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Ashraf M, et al. Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina. 2017;doi:10.3928/23258160-20170428-06.
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