Treatment of myopic choroidal neovascularization with intravitreal ranibizumab injections: the role of age

• Published in: Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.) Vol. 11; pp. 1197 - 1201
• Main Authors: Karagiannis, Dimitrios, Kontadakis, Georgios A, Kaprinis, Konstantinos, Giarmoukakis, Athanassios, Georgalas, Ilias, Parikakis, Efstratios A, Tsilimbaris, Miltiadis K
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New Zealand Dove Medical Press Limited 01.01.2017; Taylor & Francis Ltd; Dove Medical Press
• Subjects: Age groups; Atrophy; Complications and side effects; Diabetic retinopathy; Dosage and administration; Drug therapy; Epidemiology; Immunotherapy; intravitreal injection; Medical imaging; Medical prognosis; Monoclonal antibodies; Myopia; myopic choroidal neovascularization; Neovascularization; Ophthalmology; Original Research; pathologic myopia; Patients; Photodynamic therapy; Physiological aspects; Ranibizumab; Systematic review; Tomography; Greece; patho-logic myopia; intravitreal injection; ranibizumab; myopic choroidal neovascularization
• ISSN: 1177-5467; 1177-5483; 1177-5483
• DOI: 10.2147/OPTH.S135174

The aim of this study was to explore the role of age as a prognostic factor for the outcome of myopic choroidal neovascularization (CNV) treatment with intravitreal ranibizumab injections. A retrospective review of charts of patients treated with intravitreal injections of ranibizumab for the treatment of myopic CNV was done. Patients with other ophthalmic disease were excluded. Patients were followed for at least 2 years. The correlation between age and the change in visual acuity and the number of injections during treatment was investigated. Age of the patients was significantly correlated with the number of injections that the patients received (Pearson's =0.585, =0.005). Also, it was significantly correlated with improvement in corrected distance visual acuity, defined as the difference between final and initial LogMAR corrected distance visual acuity (Pearson's =0.614, =0.003). Age significantly affects the visual outcome of myopic CNV treatment with ranibizumab. Younger patients in our study needed fewer intravitreal injections and achieved a more significant improvement in vision.