Brolucizumab effectiveness in pigment epithelium detachment due to exudative AMD in naïve treatment or non-responder patients.

PURPOSE: To investigate outcomes after Brolucizumab injection in naïve treatment or non-responder patients with exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

METHODS: It is a retrospective, comparative, cohort study conducted at the tertiary referral center of the University Hospital Polyclinic of Bari, for 5 years, from November 2017 until May 2022. 41 eyes with wet-AMD (w-AMD) were included, undergoing anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) intravitreal injections. The sample was divided into two groups, the Bro-Switch group, and the Bro-Naïve group. The Bro-Switch group previously received a slot of other anti-VEGF intravitreal drugs. The Bro-Naïve group received Brolucizumab (Bro) as the first treatment. The pigment epithelium detachment (PED) and the best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) outcomes before and after Bro-injection were evaluated.

RESULTS: A significant reduction in PED measurement was registered in all eyes treated with Bro-injection (p = 0.35). The Bro-Naïve group improved better in PED measurement (mean difference: 297.92 ± 72,32) as compared to the Bro-Switch group (mean difference: 185.06 ± 11.07). On the contrary, no significant reduction in BCVA in the two groups was recorded (p = 0.66).

CONCLUSION: We suggest Bro-injection for w-AMD as effective anatomical outcomes in PED flattening, but not similar in visual results. Although this study evaluated short-term outcomes, the hopeful results can lead to interesting medium-long time effects.