Visual outcomes of age-related macular degeneration patients undergoing intravitreal ranibizumab monotherapy in an urban population

Abstract

Aim: To compare the visual outcomes of an urban population with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) undergoing ranibizumab monotherapy to the results from major clinical trials. Procedures: Prospective data was collected from 164 wet AMD patients receiving intravitreal ranibizumab. Visual acuities were obtained with the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study chart. All patients underwent a loading phase of three monthly treatments of ranibizumab. Patients were monitored monthly using a retreatment criterion. Treatment was further individualized by sequentially lengthening follow-up intervals when stable. Results: At 12 and 24 months, respectively, the percentage of eyes that maintained vision was 91% and 88.6%. We found that 20.3% of eyes had improved vision at 12 months and 20% at 24 months. At 12 months, 8.3% of eyes’ vision worsened and 12% worsened at 24 months. Conclusion: Individualized ranibizumab monotherapy is effective in preserving vision in wet AMD and follows the same trends as the pivotal trials.