Intravitreal Ranibizumab in Daily Clinical Practice for Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Treatment of Exudative Age-Related Macular Degeneration in Real Life

Purpose: To describe the anatomical and functional outcomes in patients with exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) undergoing ranibizumab therapy in real-life practice. Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of patients with exudative AMD treated with ranibizumab. Visual acuity (VA) and optic coherence tomography characteristics at baseline and at the end of the follow-up, clinical forms of the disease, delay between diagnosis and treatment as well as the number of follow-up visits and of intravitreal injections were collected. Results: One hundred and seventy-nine patients (220 eyes) were followed up during a mean of 24 months. The mean delay between diagnosis and treatment was 20.3 days (SD +/- 16.8). VA stabilization was observed in 46.4% of eyes, 21.7% of eyes gained >= 15 ETDRS (Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study) letters and 31.9% lost >= 15 ETDRS letters. The mean central retinal thickness decreased from 380.6 mu m at baseline to 295.6 mu m at the final examination. A lower baseline VA score was associated with a greater gain of letters (OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.02-1.06; p < 0.001). Conclusion: Shortening the delays in diagnosis appears to be a key point in real-life situations. (C) 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel