Intravitreal bevacizumab and aflibercept for the treatment of exudative age-related macular degeneration.

BACKGROUND AND

OBJECTIVE

To compare treatment of exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) with bevacizumab versus aflibercept in terms of central retinal thickness (CRT) and best corrected visual acuity (BCVA).

PATIENTS AND

METHODS

A retrospective cohort study examining changes in CRT and BCVA over 12 months of follow-up in 111 patients treated with bevacizumab and 91 treated with aflibercept for exudative AMD.

RESULTS

Treatment with bevacizumab and aflibercept reduced CRT from baseline to 12 months. Aflibercept significantly reduced the mean change from baseline CRT at 12 months compared to bevacizumab. However, mean CRT at 12 months was not significantly different after aflibercept versus bevacizumab (271.6 ± 74.0 μm vs 257.9 ± 48.5 μm). BCVA was significantly better at 6 months in the aflibercept group. At baseline, 18.5% of bevacizumab and 26.4% of aflibercept patients had BCVA better than 20/40. At 12 months, 34.8% of bevacizumab and 38.9% of aflibercept patients had BCVA better than 20/40.

CONCLUSION

CRT decreased and BCVA improved after treatment with bevacizumab and aflibercept for exudative AMD.