Maintaining driving vision after intravitreal anti-VEGF therapy in patients with neovascular AMD and diabetic macular edema: a plain language summary of publication.

Abstract

What is this summary about? This is the summary of an article published in Ophthalmology Retina. This summary presents results from a study that used information from a United States (US) healthcare database to look at how intravitreal injections (injections into the eyeball) of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) may affect vision for patients with either neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) or diabetic macular edema (DME). The study focused on maintaining driving vision over 4 years. What happened in this study? Researchers looked at information in the Vestrum Health database to identify patients diagnosed with nAMD or DME between January 1, 2014 and June 30, 2019 and had medical records that showed how their vision changed while they were receiving anti-VEGF treatment. What were the results? Vision improved for both nAMD and DME patient groups in the first year of anti-VEGF treatment but then got worse over the next 3 years. Patients with nAMD or DME who had more anti-VEGF injections in the first year of treatment had a higher chance of maintaining their driving vision. Both groups of patients were more likely to lose their driving vision if they were older or had worse vision before starting treatment. What do the results mean? These results show that starting anti-VEGF treatment early and having frequent injections is important for keeping driving vision in patients with nAMD or DME. Currently, patients with nAMD or DME may not be getting injections early and often enough to maintain their driving vision over the long term. Where can I find the original article on which this summary is based? You can read the original article published in the journal Ophthalmology Retina at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oret.2023.10.010 Who is this article for? The purpose of this plain language summary is to help patients with either nAMD or DME, their caregivers, patient advocates, healthcare professionals, insurance providers, and policy makers better understand the results of this study. When was this plain language summary of publication written? This summary was drafted in December 2023. Neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) and diabetic macular edema (DME) are among the leading causes of vision loss among individuals aged 50 years and older in the US and worldwide.