Fellow Eyes Conversion Rates in Patients With Unilateral Exudative Age-Related Macular Degeneration: An Academy IRIS® Registry Analysis.

BACKGROUND AND

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to examine conversion rates from non-exudative to exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in the fellow eye of patients with unilateral exudative AMD using the Academy IRIS® Registry.

PATIENTS AND

METHODS

This study was a retrospective, cohort analysis from 2016 to 2019. Patient and disease characteristics including initial AMD stage were collected. Cox proportional-hazard (PH) and logistic regression modeling were performed.

RESULTS

The risk of conversion was lower for men relative to women and for Asians and Blacks relative to Whites. Compared to never-smokers, active smokers were at increased risk of conversion, and compared to initially early non-exudative AMD eyes, intermediate and advanced non-exudative AMD eyes had higher rates of conversion. Compared to active choroidal neovascularization eyes, eyes with inactive choroidal neovascularization and inactive scars had lower rates of fellow eye conversion.

CONCLUSIONS

In this cohort analysis of unilateral exudative AMD patients, women, Whites, and active smokers had higher rates of non-exudative to exudative AMD conversion in the fellow eye. [Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina 2024;55:220-226.].