New Therapies for ARMD 1 Thursday 17 May 14:30 - 16:00 Salle Camille Blanc
G.S. Dua, P.J. Ramana, R. Pearson, N. Karia,
UK
Intravitreal bevacizumab (Avastin) for the management of Retinal Pigment Epithelial Detachment (PED) with subretinal fluid in age related macular degeneration
Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of intravitreal Bevacizumab in macular degeneration consisting of fibrovascular PED. The primary outcome assessed was decrease in PED height and resolution of subretinal fluid (SRF) as measured by ocular coherence tomogram (OCT). The secondary outcome assessed was improvement in visual acuity (ETDRS chart). Setting: Non-randomized, prospective, consecutive, non-controlled case series in a university hospital in England under National Health Service settings. Methods: A cohort of 47 eyes 47 patients (31 females and 16 males; mean age 73 years) were enrolled. Patients with history of stroke or myocardial infarction within last 3 months and uncontrolled hypertension were excluded. All patients were treated with 1.25 mg in 0.05ml of intravitreal bevacizumab at interval of 4 weeks for maximum of three 3 injections. Patients underwent detailed fundus examination, visual acuity testing (logMAR) and OCT imaging prior to treatment and at subsequent visits. Changes in the central macular thickness were analyzed and correlated with retinal morphological changes and changes in BCVA (ETDRS). Results: All patients completed 3 months follow up period. LogMAR Visual acuity improved from baseline mean 0.67 (31.88 ETDRS letters) to 0.56 (42.59 ETDRS letters) i.e 10.71 ETDRS letters. The baseline mean central macular thickness on OCT was 336.04 microns, which decreased to 208.19 microns at last follow up visit. Most patients demonstrated complete resolution of PED and SRF at the end of treatment. No ocular or systemic serious adverse events were noted. Conclusions: Short term results suggest that intravitreal bevacizumab (1.25 mg) is well tolerated and associated with improvement in visual acuity and decrease in central macular thickness. There were no short term safety concerns.
