Treatment for neovascular age-related macular degeneration in Sweden: outcomes at seven years in the Swedish Macula Register.

PURPOSE

To present Swedish Macula Register (SMR) data regarding treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in clinical practice since 2008.

METHODS

A retrospective register-based study was conducted. Evaluation of baseline demographics, visual outcome and number of injections during this period is presented.

RESULTS

Mean age at diagnosis was 79 ± (SD) 8 years; 65% were female. The proportion of patients with <2 months' duration of symptoms increased from 26% in 2008 to 41% in 2014 (p = 0.001). Mean visual acuity (VA) at baseline increased from 54.3 ± 15.0 early treatment diabetic retinopathy study (ETDRS) letters in 2008 to 57.8 ± 15.6 letters in 2014 (CI 2.6; 4.3; p < 0.001). Mean VA after 1 year of treatment increased from 57.8 ± 17.7 ETDRS letters for patients who started the treatment in 2008 to 62.8 ± 16.4 ETDRS letters in patients starting treatment in 2014 (CI 2.67; 4.64; p < 0.001). During all study years, the proportion of patients with an improvement in VA of between 5 and 15 letters was around 30%, while 14% had VA improvement of more than 15 letters. The mean number of injections during the first treatment year increased from 4.3 ± 1.9 in 2008 to 5.9 ± 2.9 in 2014 (CI 1.40; 1.67; p < 0.001). Seven-year follow-up of 322 eyes showed a mean change of -1 letters from baseline, with a mean of 21 injections for the entire period.

CONCLUSION

The duration of symptoms before treatment decreased, while VA at baseline and after 1 year of treatment increased over the years and so did the number of injections. Long-term follow-up demonstrated stable VA.