Long-term outcomes of ranibizumab treatment in neovascular age-related macular degeneration

AIM: To investigate 3-year results in our neovascular age related macular degeneration (NV-AMD) patients treated with ranibizumab. METHODS: Retrospective study. Visual acuity (VA), a full biomicroscopic examination (anterior segment and fundus), and optical coherence tomography (OCT) findings were noted at every visit. All patients were followed monthly. The VA values for the visits closest to 12, 24, and 36mo were analysed. 101 eyes of 73 patients were enrolled. According to the initial VA, the patients were divided three groups: initial VA ≤35 (Group 1), 36-54 (Group 2), and ≥55 letters (Group 3). After three loading doses of 0.5 mg ranibizumab if retreatment was needed, again, 0.5 mg ranibizumab was administered RESULTS: Totally 57 of the 101 eyes were from males and 44 were from females. The average age was 75.1 years. The difference on the changes of VA among three groups at 24 and 36mo were statistically significant (P=0.02 and 0.001 respectively). At the end of the 36-month follow-up the VA increase in Group 2 was significant (P=0.001). At the 12, 24, and 36mo visits most of the eyes showed no VA loss and most of these eyes were in Group 1. The average number of injections administered was 7.3 and the average number of visits was 23.9 during the follow-up. CONCLUSION: VA improvement was significant in those with mild initial VA (36-54 letters). Most eyes showed no VA loss regardless of the initial VA. No correlation between the final VA and the average number of injections.