Author(s): Franqueira, N ; Cachulo, ML ; Pires, I ; Fonseca, P ; Marques, I ; Figueira, J ; Silva, R
Date: 2012
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.4/2057
Origin: Repositório do Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra
Subject(s): Anticorpos Monoclonais; Neovascularização da Coróide; Miopia Degenerativa; Ranibizumab
PURPOSE: To evaluate the long-term safety and efficacy of intravitreal ranibizumab in the treatment of myopic choroidal neovascularization (CNV). METHODS: Three-year retrospective, nonrandomized, interventional case series. Forty eyes of 39 patients with myopic CNV were included; 15 with previous photodynamic therapy, and 25 naïve eyes. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) changes, central foveal thickness (CFT), and number of treatments were assessed, from baseline to month 36. RESULTS: Mean visual acuity improved from 55.4 Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) letters at baseline to 59.7 letters at 12 months (p = 0.07), 61.8 letters at 24 months (p = 0.008) and 63.4 letters at 36 months (p = 0.039). Twenty-five percent of the patients gained ≥15 letters (3 lines) at 12 months, 30% at 24 months and 35% at 36 months. There was a mean reduction of 80 μm in CFT (p < 0.001). A mean of 4.1 injections were performed in the first year, 2.4 in the second year and 1.1 in the third year. Fifty-three percent of the eyes had no need for treatment during the third year of follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Intravitreal ranibizumab seems to be an effective and safe therapeutic procedure to treat CNV in highly myopic eyes, with a high proportion of patients gaining or stabilizing BCVA at a 3-year follow-up.
