scholarly journals Treatment choices for diabetic macular oedema: a guideline for when to consider an intravitreal corticosteroid, including adaptations for the COVID-19 era

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. e000696
Author(s):  
Louise Downey ◽  
Nachiketa Acharya ◽  
Helen Devonport ◽  
Richard Gale ◽  
Maged Habib ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Corticosteroid Therapy ◽  
Macular Oedema ◽  
Diabetic Macular Oedema ◽  
Improve Patient Care ◽  
Vascular Endothelial ◽  
Treatment Burden ◽  
Anti Vegf ◽  
Decision Points ◽  
Injection Frequency ◽  
Endothelial Growth Factor

First-line treatment of centrally involved diabetic macular oedema (CI-DMO) is often with an anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) agent. Although this can provide efficacy in the majority of eyes, a sizeable proportion do not respond sufficiently and many continue to receive anti-VEGF therapy after it may be optimal. This imposes a treatment burden on both patients and clinicians and, most importantly of all, can be sight threatening. Changing treatment to an intravitreal corticosteroid implant at the appropriate time may help optimise patient outcomes and reduce injection frequency, thereby reducing treatment burden.Eight retina specialists convened to discuss how to ensure eyes with CI-DMO receiving intravitreal anti-VEGF therapy are evaluated for a potential change to intravitreal corticosteroid therapy at the most effective time in their treatment journey. They concluded that clear criteria on when to consider changing treatment would be helpful and so developed a consensus guideline covering key decision points such as when and how to assess response to anti-VEGF therapy, when to consider a change to corticosteroid therapy and when and how to assess the response to corticosteroid therapy.The guideline was developed before the COVID-19 pandemic but, with the additional challenges arising from this including even greater pressure on clinic capacity, it is more important than ever to reconsider current working practices and adopt changes to improve patient care while also easing pressure on clinic capacity, reducing hospital visits and maintaining patient safety. This publication therefore also includes suggestions for adapting the guidelines in the COVID-19 era.

scholarly journals Visual acuity outcomes and anti-VEGF therapy intensity in diabetic macular oedema: a real-world analysis of 28 658 patient eyes

2020 ◽  
pp. bjophthalmol-2020-315933 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas A Ciulla ◽  
John S Pollack ◽  
David F Williams
Keyword(s):  
Visual Acuity ◽  
Electronic Medical Records ◽  
Macular Oedema ◽  
Medical Records ◽  
Diabetic Macular Oedema ◽  
Treatment Intensity ◽  
Anti Vegf ◽  
Injection Frequency ◽  
Treatment Naïve ◽  
Endothelial Growth Factor

Background/AimTo assess visual acuity (VA) outcomes and antivascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) treatment intensity in diabetic macular oedema (DMO).MethodsRetrospective analysis was performed in treatment-naïve patients with DMO from 2013 to 2018 using a database of aggregated de-identified electronic medical records (Vestrum Health).ResultsAt 1 year, 28 658 patient eyes underwent a mean of 6.4 anti-VEGF injections, gaining a mean of +4.2 letters (95% confidence interval for mean gain: +4.0 to +4.5 letters, p<0.001). When stratified by anti-VEGF medication and by years 2013–2018, no clinically meaningful differences in injection frequency or 1-year VA change resulted. At 1 year, 50% of eyes received ≤6 injections, while <20% received 10–13 injections, representing monthly treatment. Mean letters gained at 1 year generally showed a linear relationship with mean number of anti-VEGF injections, beyond two injections. Eyes with good baseline VA (≥20/40) generally were at risk of VA loss at 1 year; those with moderately severe baseline impairment (20/70 to 20/200) who received ≥10 injections improved by a mean of +10.3 letters.ConclusionIn clinical practice, patients with DMO undergo fewer anti-VEGF injections and exhibit worse visual gains compared with patients in randomised clinical trials. Visual outcomes correlate with treatment intensity at 1 year, with ceiling effects related to baseline VA.

Patients’ experiences before starting anti-VEGF treatment for sight-threatening diabetic macular oedema: A qualitative interview study

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Therese Granström ◽  
Henrietta Forsman ◽  
Anna-Lena Brorsson ◽  
Elisabet Granstam ◽  
Janeth Leksell
Keyword(s):  
Macular Oedema ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Diabetic Macular Oedema ◽  
Diabetic Complication ◽  
Vascular Endothelial ◽  
Anti Vegf ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Qualitative Interview Study ◽  
Endothelial Growth Factor ◽  
Different Levels

The diabetic complication macular oedema (DME) is a growing problem worldwide because of the increasing number of patients suffering from diabetes mellitus (DM). DME is treated with injections of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) in the eye. This real-world study aimed to describe patients’ experiences before they received their first injection in the eye. Twenty-one men and women aged 49 to 86 years were interviewed. The interviews were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Two categories and an overall theme ‘to be at a crossroads and a crucial phase in life with an uncertain outcome’ were found. The participants expressed thoughts and concerns at different levels, practical concerns about the treatment procedure, and other existential thoughts regarding hope for improved visual acuity or fear of deterioration. Cooperation between eye clinics and diabetes clinics should be strengthened to clarify who is responsible for providing the information and support required by patients.

scholarly journals Hyperreflective foci in predicting the treatment outcomes of diabetic macular oedema after anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chu-Hsuan Huang ◽  
Chang-Hao Yang ◽  
Yi-Ting Hsieh ◽  
Chung-May Yang ◽  
Tzyy-Chang Ho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor ◽  
Visual Acuity ◽  
Growth Factor ◽  
Treatment Response ◽  
Macular Oedema ◽  
Diabetic Macular Oedema ◽  
Vascular Endothelial ◽  
Outer Retina ◽  
Hyperreflective Foci ◽  
Endothelial Growth Factor

AbstractThis retrospective study evaluated the association of hyperreflective foci (HRF) with treatment response in diabetic macular oedema (DME) after anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy. The medical records, including of ophthalmologic examinations and optical coherence tomography (OCT) images, of 106 patients with DME treated with either intravitreal ranibizumab or aflibercept were reviewed. The correlations between best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) changes and HRF along with other OCT biomarkers were analysed. The mean logMAR BCVA improved from 0.696 to 0.461 after an average of 6.2 injections in 1 year under real-world conditions. Greater visual-acuity gain was noted in patients with a greater number of HRF in the outer retina at baseline (p = 0.037), along with other factors such as poor baseline vision (p < 0.001), absence of epiretinal membrane (p = 0.048), and presence of subretinal fluid at baseline (p = 0.001). The number of HRF after treatment was correlated with the presence of hard exudate (p < 0.001) and baseline haemoglobin A1C (p = 0.001). Patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy had greater HRF reduction after treatment (p = 0.018). The number of HRF in the outer retina, in addition to other baseline OCT biomarkers, could be used to predict the treatment response in DME after anti-VEGF treatment.

scholarly journals Real world evidence on 5661 patients treated for macular oedema secondary to branch retinal vein occlusion with intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor, intravitreal dexamethasone or macular laser

2020 ◽  
pp. bjophthalmol-2020-315836 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Gale ◽  
Maria Pikoula ◽  
Aaron Y Lee ◽  
Spiros Denaxas ◽  
Catherine Egan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor ◽  
Visual Acuity ◽  
Growth Factor ◽  
Macular Oedema ◽  
Branch Retinal Vein Occlusion ◽  
Vascular Endothelial ◽  
Vein Occlusion ◽  
Anti Vegf ◽  
Intravitreal Dexamethasone ◽  
Endothelial Growth Factor

Background/aimsClinical trials suggest anti-vascular endothelial growth factor is more effective than intravitreal dexamethasone as treatment for macular oedema secondary to branch retinal vein occlusion. This study asks if ‘real world’ data from a larger and more diverse population, followed for a longer period, also support this conclusion.MethodsData collected to support routine care at 27 NHS (National Health Service) Trusts between February 2002 and September 2017 contained 5661 treatment-naive patients with a single mode of treatment for macular oedema secondary to branch retinal vein occlusion and no history of cataract surgery either during or recently preceding the treatment. Number of treatment visits and change in visual acuity from baseline was plotted for three treatment groups (anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF), intravitreal dexamethasone, macular laser) for up to 3 years.ResultsMean baseline visual acuity was 57.1/53.1/62.3 letters in the anti-VEGF/dexamethasone/macular laser groups, respectively. This changed to 66.72 (+9.6)/57.6 (+4.5)/63.2 (+0.9) at 12 months. Adequate numbers allowed analysis at 18 months for all groups (66.6 (+9.5)/56.1 (+3.0)/60.8 (-1.5)) and for anti-VEGF at 36 months (68.0, +10.9) Mean number of treatments were 5.1/1.5/1.2 at 12 months, 5.9/1.7/1.2 at 18 months for all three groups and 10.3 at 36 months for anti-VEGF.ConclusionsVisual acuity improvements were higher and more sustained with anti-VEGF. Higher treatment burden occurred with anti-VEGF but this reduced over 36 months. Patients with better vision at baseline than those in the clinical trials maintained high levels of vision with both anti-VEGF and dexamethasone.

Hyperreflective cystoid spaces in diabetic macular oedema: prevalence and clinical implications

2020 ◽  
pp. bjophthalmol-2020-317191
Author(s):  
Aude Couturier ◽  
Valerie Mane ◽  
Carlo Alessandro Lavia ◽  
Ramin Tadayoni
Keyword(s):  
Macular Oedema ◽  
Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography ◽  
Diabetic Macular Oedema ◽  
Functional Improvement ◽  
Vascular Endothelial ◽  
Hard Exudates ◽  
Corrected Visual Acuity ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Endothelial Growth Factor

AimsTo analyse the prevalence and evolution of hyper-reflective cystoid spaces with decorrelation signal detected using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in diabetic macular oedema (DMO).MethodsA retrospective study of consecutive eyes with DMO imaged using OCTA over a 1-year period was conducted. All eyes with hyper-reflective cystoid spaces at baseline and at least 3 months of follow-up were included in a longitudinal analysis.ResultsThe prevalence of hyperreflective cystoid spaces with decorrelation signal was of 37% (61/165) in DMO eyes. Hyperreflective foci within hyperreflective cystoid spaces were observed in 85% of eyes. The longitudinal study included 33 eyes (10 observed and 23 treated with intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor), with a median follow-up of 15 months. The hyperreflective cystoid spaces resolved in 85% of eyes. The mean best-corrected visual acuity remained stable during the follow-up, even in the eyes achieving a resolution of the hyperreflective cystoid spaces. Hard exudates appeared in the area of resolved hyperreflective cystoid spaces in 33% of eyes.ConclusionHyperreflective cystoid spaces detected by OCTA affected more than one-third of the DMO eyes. Their disappearance was not associated with any functional improvement and led to the formation of new hard exudate deposits in about one-third of the eyes.

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