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Twelve-month outcomes of treatment using ranibizumab or aflibercept for neovascular age-related macular degeneration: a comparative study

  • Retinal Disorders
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

To compare the 12-month treatment outcome of ranibizumab with that of aflibercept in cases of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Methods

This retrospective single-institution study included patients who had been diagnosed with treatment-naïve neovascular AMD and treated using either ranibizumab (ranibizumab group, n = 30) or aflibercept (aflibercept group, n = 21) monotherapy over a 12-month follow-up period. Patients initially received three monthly injections, and were re-treated when neovascularization recurred. The best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at diagnosis and at 12 months, as well as the number of injections, were compared between the two groups.

Results

In the ranibizumab group, the mean logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution BCVA values at diagnosis and at 12 months were 0.86 ± 0.45 and 0.72 ± 0.56, respectively. The equivalent values were 0.73 ± 0.37 and 0.58 ± 0.41 in the aflibercept group. The mean number of injections was 4.5 ± 1.3 in the ranibizumab group and 4.3 ± 0.9 in the aflibercept group. There was no difference in BCVA between the two groups at either diagnosis (P = 0.560) or 12 months (P = 0.702). There was also no difference between the two groups in the number of injections (P = 0.847).

Conclusion

The 12-month treatment outcome of intravitreal ranibizumab was similar to that of intravitreal aflibercept, with a comparable injection frequency. Further prospective studies with a more controlled design are needed to confirm our findings.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, Kim’s Eye Hospital, Konyang University College of Medicine, #156 Youngdeungpo-dong 4ga, Youngdeungpo-gu, Seoul, 150-034, South Korea

    Jae Hui Kim, Dong Won Lee, Jong Woo Kim & Chul Gu Kim

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, Konyang University College of Medicine, Daejeon, South Korea

    Young Suk Chang

Authors
  1. Jae Hui Kim
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  2. Dong Won Lee
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  3. Young Suk Chang
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  4. Jong Woo Kim
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  5. Chul Gu Kim
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dong Won Lee.

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Funding

Kim’s Eye Hospital (Seoul, South Korea) provided financial support in the form of funding for English editing support. The sponsor had no role in the design or conduct of this research.

Conflict of interest

All authors certify that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial or non-financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.

Ethical approval

The study was approved by the institutional review board of Kim’s Eye Hospital (Seoul, South Korea). This study was conducted in accordance with the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki.

Informed consent

Informed consent was not obtained in this study. Identifying information about participants was not presented in this study.

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Kim, J.H., Lee, D.W., Chang, Y.S. et al. Twelve-month outcomes of treatment using ranibizumab or aflibercept for neovascular age-related macular degeneration: a comparative study. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 254, 2101–2109 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-016-3353-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-016-3353-7

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