Consequences of Real-World Surveillance of Fellow Eyes in Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration

This study investigated whether the interval of monitoring at-risk, fellow eyes of patients with unilateral neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) has any bearing on the severity of the disease at the time of diagnosis. The study comprised a retrospective, cross-sectional comparative case series of treatment-naive eyes in patients who were diagnosed sequentially with nAMD. We compared the visual acuity (VA) and central macular thickness (CMT) of patients who were actively receiving intravitreal injections (IVIs) of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) agents at the time of second eye diagnosis with the VA and CMT of patients who had ceased treatment in their first eye because of reaching end-stages of disease. Intervals of visits and frequency of monitoring the macula of fellow eyes by means of optical coherence tomography (OCT) were abstracted from the medical record. We found that the at-risk fellow eyes of patients who had stopped treatment for nAMD in their first eye prior to fellow eye conversion were monitored significantly less frequently than the fellow eyes of patients who continued to receive treatment at the time of second eye diagnosis. Despite less frequent monitoring, VA and CMT were similar at the time of fellow eye diagnosis for both groups.

Automated summary

This study examined the relationship between the interval of monitoring the at-risk eyes of patients with unilateral neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) and the severity of the disease at diagnosis. The study compared the visual acuity and central macular thickness of patients who were actively receiving anti-VEGF treatment at the time of second eye diagnosis with patients who had discontinued treatment in their first eye. The results showed that the at-risk eyes of patients who had stopped treatment prior to fellow eye conversion were monitored less frequently than those who continued treatment. However, the visual acuity and central macular thickness were similar at the time of fellow eye diagnosis for both groups.