AMD patients undergoing anti-VEGF treatment may be at risk for ocular complications

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. — A longitudinal study by researchers at Duke University suggests individuals who receive anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) treatment for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) are at a higher risk of having ocular complications.

The study, which will be presented at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology this week, was conducted using the Medicare claims database. A total of 6,734 individuals undergoing anti VEGF treatment for neovascular AMD were compared with the same number of individuals with neovascular AMD who did not undergo anti-VEGF treatment.

Rates of post-injection outcomes – endophthalmitis, rhegmatogenous retinal detachment, retinal tear uveitis and vitreous hemorrhage – were analyzed by cumulative incidence and the Cox proportional hazards model for demographic factors and ocular comorbidities. Result showed that at the two-year follow-up, the rates of endophthalmitis and vitreous hemorrhage, though rare in both groups, were signficantly higher in the anti-VEGF treatment group.

Using the Cox model, researchers also found that the anti-VEGF group had an 87.9 percent higher risk of severe ocular complications overall and 2.6 percent increased risk per injection.

Abstract Title: Ocular Complications After Anti-vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Therapy In Medicare Patients With Age-related Macular Degeneration
Presentation Start/End Time: Sunday May 1, 2011; 8:30 – 10:15am
Location: Hall B/C
Session Number: 106

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