Effectiveness of treatment of exudative age-related macular degeneration with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor drugs

ABSTRACT Objective: To characterize the effectiveness of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor drugs in exudative age-related macular degeneration. Methods: Retrospective longitudinal study of 54 patients with age-related macular degeneration receiving bevacizumab or aflibercept. Demographic data, visual acuity, and central retinal thickness measurements were collected. Improvement/stability of visual acuity and reduction in retinal thickness configured satisfactory responses. Results: Among the 60 eyes studied, there was no difference (p = 0.262) in satisfactory response when using bevacizumab (48.5%) or aflibercept (63.0%). Snellen’s visual acuity, letter gain, and retinal thickness showed improvement or maintenance in 55.0%, 32.8%, and 78.3% of cases, respectively. The percentage of improvement/maintenance was higher in eyes with an initial visual acuity of < Snellen 20/400 (70.0% versus 40.0%; p = 0.002). Conclusion: A higher percentage of improvement/stabilization of visual acuity and macular thickness was observed in patients with age-related macular degeneration, with better response in patients with visual acuity worse than Snellen 20/400.