2M.D., Ankara University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology, Ankara/TURKEY
3M.D. Asistant, Ankara University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology, Ankara/TURKEY Purpose: To report short-term results of aflibercept treatment in cases with wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) resistant to ranibizumab.
Materials and Methods: The patients with wet AMD who had the persistent subretinal/intraretinal fluid or pigment epithelial detachment (PED) despite previous ranibizumab treatments were included the study. The medical records of the patients were retrospectively analyzed and the demographical datas, previous treatments, best corrected visual acuities (BCVA), the central macular thickness (CMT) and precence of intraretinal/subretinal fluid and PED based on OCT before and after aflibercept injections were recorded.
Results: 7 eyes of 5 patients (3 women, 2 men) with a mean age of 70.8 were included in this study. The mean number of ranibizumab injections before switching aflibercept was 12.14 (6-28). The mean follow-up after the aflibercept injections was 2.2 (1-4) months and meanwhile the mean number of aflibercept injections was 1.85 (1-3). The mean BCVA were 1.18 and 1.1 LogMAR before and after the aflibercept injections, respectively. The mean CMT were 773.8 (404-1488) and 225.7 (160-273) microns before and after the aflibercept injections, respectively.
Conclusion: Although it was not accompanied by an increase in visual acuity, in all cases after the injection of aflibercept, anatomic success was provided in the short term. These results can be explained with the presence of persistant fluid and formation of scar tissue before aflibercept treatment. Intravitreal aflibercept treatment seems to be an effective treatment of choice for eyes with wet age-related macular degeneration resistant to ranibizumab.
Keywords : Aflibercept, age-related macular degeneration, ranibizumab