scholarly journals Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor treatment for retinal conditions: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. e022031 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ba' Pham ◽  
Sonia M Thomas ◽  
Erin Lillie ◽  
Taehoon Lee ◽  
Jemila Hamid ◽  
...  

ObjectivesTo evaluate the comparative effectiveness and safety of intravitreal bevacizumab, ranibizumab and aflibercept for patients with choroidal neovascular age-related macular degeneration (cn-AMD), diabetic macular oedema (DMO), macular oedema due to retinal vein occlusion (RVO-MO) and myopic choroidal neovascularisation (m-CNV).DesignSystematic review and random-effects meta-analysis.MethodsMultiple databases were searched from inception to 17 August 2017. Eligible head-to-head randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the (anti-VEGF) drugs in adult patients aged ≥18 years with the retinal conditions of interest. Two reviewers independently screened studies, extracted data and assessed risk of bias.Results19 RCTs involving 7459 patients with cn-AMD (n=12), DMO (n=3), RVO-MO (n=2) and m-CNV (n=2) were included. Vision gain was not significantly different in patients with cn-AMD, DMO, RVO-MO and m-CNV treated with bevacizumab versus ranibizumab. Similarly, vision gain was not significantly different between cn-AMD patients treated with aflibercept versus ranibizumab. Patients with DMO treated with aflibercept experienced significantly higher vision gain at 12 months than patients receiving ranibizumab or bevacizumab; however, this difference was not significant at 24 months. Rates of systemic serious harms were similar across anti-VEGF agents. Posthoc analyses revealed that an as-needed treatment regimen (6–9 injections per year) was associated with a mortality increase of 1.8% (risk ratio: 2.0 [1.2 to 3.5], 2 RCTs, 1795 patients) compared with monthly treatment in cn-AMD patients.ConclusionsIntravitreal bevacizumab was a reasonable alternative to ranibizumab and aflibercept in patients with cn-AMD, DMO, RVO-MO and m-CNV. The only exception was for patients with DME and low visual acuity (<69 early treatment diabetic retinopathy study [ETDRS] letters), where treatment with aflibercept was associated with significantly higher vision gain (≥15 ETDRS letters) than bevacizumab or ranibizumab at 12 months; but the significant effects were not maintained at 24 months. The choice of anti-VEGF drugs may depend on the specific retinal condition, baseline visual acuity and treatment regimen.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42015022041.

2018 ◽  
Vol 103 (4) ◽  
pp. 442-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison Low ◽  
Ambar Faridi ◽  
Kavita V Bhavsar ◽  
Glenn C Cockerham ◽  
Michele Freeman ◽  
...  

Intravitreal antivascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agents are widely used to treat ocular conditions but the benefits and harms of these treatments are uncertain. We conducted a systematic review to compare the effects of aflibercept, bevacizumab and ranibizumab on best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) changes, quality of life and ocular or systemic adverse events in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (NVAMD), diabetic macular oedema (DME) and central or branch retinal vein occlusion (RVO). We searched published and unpublished literature sources to February 2017 for randomised controlled trials and cohort or modelling studies reporting comparative costs in the USA. Two reviewers extracted data and graded the strength of the evidence using established methods. Of 17 included trials, none reported a clinically important difference (≥ 5 letters) in visual acuity gains between agents. Nine trials provide high-strength evidence of no difference between bevacizumab and ranibizumab for NVAMD. Three trials provide moderate-strength evidence of no difference between bevacizumab and ranibizumab for DME. There was low-strength evidence of similar effects between aflibercept and ranibizumab for NVAMD, aflibercept and bevacizumab for RVO and all three agents for DME. There was insufficient evidence to compare bevacizumab and ranibizumab for RVO. Rates of ocular adverse events were low, and systemic harms were generally similar between groups, although 1 DME trial reported more arterial thrombotic events with ranibizumab versus aflibercept. Overall, no agent had a clear advantage over another for effectiveness or safety. Aflibercept and ranibizumab were significantly less cost-effective than repackaged bevacizumab in two trials. Systematic review registration number: CRD42016034076.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianqing Li ◽  
Jiayi Xu ◽  
Yiyi Chen ◽  
Jiaju Zhang ◽  
Yihong Cao ◽  
...  

Purpose. Intravitreal antivascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapy has been widely used for the treatment of neovascularization (NV) secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This study aimed to compare the efficacy among different subtypes of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). Methods. PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were searched for eligible studies. We performed meta-analysis using Review Manager 5.3 and Stata/SE 12.0. Results. A total of 24 studies met our inclusion criteria and were included in the systematic review. At 3 months, the mean logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) improvements were −0.09, −0.18, and −0.23 for type 1, 2, and 3, respectively, while the mean macular thickness (MT) changes were −104.83, −130.76, and −196.29 μm. At 12 months, the mean changes in Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) letters were 6.38, 8.12, and 9.37, while the MT decrease was 126.51, 126.52, and 139.85 μm, respectively. However, statistically significant difference was only found between type 1 and 3 in vision improvement, both in the short term (p=0.0002) and long term (p=0.01). Conclusions. The reactivity to VEGF inhibitors varied among different subtypes of nAMD. The efficacy of intravitreal anti-VEGF therapy in type 3 nAMD was statistically better than type 1 when considering vision improvement at 3 and 12 months. Thus, the lesion subtype is a predictor for the treatment outcome which can help guide prognosis.


2020 ◽  
pp. bjophthalmol-2020-317337
Author(s):  
Thomas Ciulla ◽  
John S Pollack ◽  
David F Williams

Background/AimsTo assess visual acuity (VA) outcomes and antivascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapy intensity in retinal vein occlusion (RVO)-related macular oedema (ME).MethodsA retrospective study was completed in treatment-naïve patients with RVO-related ME from 2013 to 2019, using the Vestrum Health Retina Database.ResultsMean baseline age was 72.4 years and 54% were women. In 6 months, in 8876 eyes with branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO)-related ME, after a mean of 4.5 anti-VEGF injections, VA increased by 9.4 letters (95% confidence interval (CI) for change in VA +8.94 to +9.78, p<0.001) from a baseline of 55.1 letters. In 6737 eyes with central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO)-related ME, after a mean of 4.6 anti-VEGF injections over 6 months, VA improved by 9.2 letters (95% CI +8.50 to +9.87, p<0.001) from a baseline of 37.2 letters. In 1 year, VA gain was similar (BRVO: 7.4 injections, +8.1 letters, 95% CI +7.55 to +8.57, p<0.001; CRVO: 7.6 injections, +7.1 letters, 95% CI +6.31 to +7.95, p<0.001). In 6 months and 1 year, mean letters gain increased with number of anti-VEGF injections. Patient eyes with baseline VA of 20/40 or better tended to lose VA in 1 year.ConclusionMean change in VA correlates with treatment intensity, but patients with better VA at presentation are susceptible to vision loss, reflecting a ceiling effect. Assessed with the same database, VA gains compare favourably with 1-year VA gains in neovascular age-related macular degeneration and diabetic ME, but exhibit a larger gap when compared with corresponding randomised controlled trials.


The Physician ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Mana Rahimzadeh ◽  
Ramu Muniraju ◽  
Shahrnaz Izadi

Introduction: Ophthalmology services have been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Frequency of intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (Anti-VEGF) injections are important in visual outcomes. Methods: We conducted an audit on intravitreal services in an NHS district general hospital in the UK including all new patients with diabetic macular oedema (CI-DMO) and wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) who were initiated on intravitreal injection of Aflibercept (EYLEA) between 1st January to 15th July 2020, and had subsequent injections until October 2020. Data on injection dates and visual acuity was extracted, and the total number of all intravitreal injections for all indications between January to September 2020 and the same period in 2019. Delay to treatment was defined as more than 14 days, according to the fixed dosing schedule. Results: We found 31% (n=17) of patients initiated on treatment for wet AMD and 44% (N=11) for CI-DMO had delayed injections.  There was no correlation between total duration of delay and change in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA). Similarly, we found no association between duration of delay and change in BCVA. The number of intravitreal injections declined during the COVID-19 pandemic by 17.8% compared to 2019. Conclusion: Majority of patients initiated on anti-VEGF injections just before the pandemic or during the pandemic received injections on time. Where there were significant delays to treatment, there was no detected loss in vision over the short term. However, the long-term impact and impact of overall reduction in intravitreal injections are unknown.


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