Better visual outcome at 1 year with antivascular endothelial growth factor treatment according to treat-and-extend compared with pro re nata in eyes with neovascular age-related macular degeneration.

PURPOSE: To evaluate treatment outcome at 12 months in eyes with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) treated with antivascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) injections according to either pro re nata (PRN)- or treat-and-extend (TE)-regimen in one clinical setting in Sweden.

METHODS: Data were obtained retrospectively from the Swedish Macula Register, optical coherence tomography-database and electronic patient charts. The study included 443 eyes; 223 PRN- and 220 TE-treated eyes. Baseline (BL) characteristics and follow-up data at 6 and 12 months were collected. Statistical regression analysis was performed to evaluate association between treatment strategy and visual outcome at 12 months.

RESULTS: Baseline (BL) characteristics were well balanced between cohorts. Visual acuity at 12 months was higher in TE-cohort 66.5 (13.1) compared to PRN-cohort 60.1 (17.6) (p = 0.000). Visual improvement at 12 months was +5.2 (11.8) and +1.2 (12.7) letters Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) in TE- and PRN-cohorts, respectively (p = 0.002). Number of administered injections at 12 months was 10.2 (2.1) and 6.3 (2.1) in the two cohorts (p = 0.000). Statistical analysis demonstrated a strong association between TE treatment strategy and improvement in visual acuity at 12 months.

CONCLUSION: Eyes treated according to TE had better visual outcome at 12 months. The results indicate that treatment according to proactive TE-regimen is superior to treatment according to PRN-regimen in clinical routine care of nAMD.