Purpose: To describe the anatomical and functional outcomes in patients with exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) undergoing ranibizumab therapy in real-life practice.
Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of patients with exudative AMD treated with ranibizumab. Visual acuity (VA) and optic coherence tomography characteristics at baseline and at the end of the follow-up, clinical forms of the disease, delay between diagnosis and treatment as well as the number of follow-up visits and of intravitreal injections were collected.
Results: One hundred and seventy-nine patients (220 eyes) were followed up during a mean of 24 months. The mean delay between diagnosis and treatment was 20.3 days (SD ±16.8). VA stabilization was observed in 46.4% of eyes, 21.7% of eyes gained ≥15 ETDRS (Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study) letters and 31.9% lost ≥15 ETDRS letters. The mean central retinal thickness decreased from 380.6 μm at baseline to 295.6 µm at the final examination. A lower baseline VA score was associated with a greater gain of letters (OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.02-1.06; p < 0.001).
Conclusion: Shortening the delays in diagnosis appears to be a key point in real-life situations.
© 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.