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Study shows decrease in visual acuity after discontinuing AMD injections
Researchers noted marked deterioration in visual acuity over 2 years in patients who discontinued treatment for neovascular age-related macular degeneration.
Visual deterioration was more prominent in eyes with intraretinal fluid, they found.
The retrospective, observational study included 35 patients (35 eyes) who initially received anti-vascular endothelial growth factor treatment for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) but discontinued treatment despite persistent or recurrent fluid.
Researchers compared best-corrected visual acuity at treatment discontinuation to the 24-month BCVA, looking at polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy and other neovascular AMD subtypes.
The mean number of injections before treatment discontinuation was 4.0.
The mean logarithm of minimal angle of resolution of BCVA at treatment discontinuation and at 24 months was 1.02 and 1.60, respectively.
Researchers found that BCVA did not vary for different age-related macular degeneration subtypes.
Additional treatment should be encouraged for all patients with persistent or recurrent fluid, they said.
Decreased visual acuity caused by AMD can lead to a decline in the quality of life and greater restriction of participation in daily living, researchers wrote. – by Abigail Sutton
Disclosures: The authors had no relevant financial disclosures to report.