To compare the 1-year outcomes of treat-and-extend and pro re nata (PRN) treatment regimens with aflibercept for polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV), by the means of visual acuity (VA), frequency of recurrence of polypoidal lesions and developed fibrosis, and the number of intravitreal injections, and thus to determine which one is preferable in the maintenance phase in PCV.
Methods:
In our prospective study, only naive and previously untreated PCV patients were included. Initially one session of photodynamic therapy (PDT) and three monthly intravitreal injections of 2.0 mg aflibercept (IAIs) were applied in 38 eyes. After this loading phase, they were re-examined and 30 PCV eyes with no exudative phenomena were included in the study. They were divided in two groups; in the first one (16 patients) the PRN treatment modality of IAIs was applied, while in the second one (14 patients) the treat-and-extend regimen was applied.
Results:
Over a 12-month period, VA significantly improved in treat-and-extend group (logMAR BCVA 0.41 ± 0.15 vs 0.57 ± 0.24 at baseline, p = 0.044), while in the PRN group VA remained stable (logMAR BCVA 0.70 ± 0.36 vs 0.65 ± 0.18 at baseline, p = 0.61). During the maintenance phase, the patients of treat-and-extend group did not encounter development/progression of fibrosis or any recurrent episodes, whereas the patients of PRN group had significantly more recurrent episodes (0 vs 1.37 ± 0.5, p < 0.001) and the frequency of development/progression of fibrosis was significantly higher (0% vs 44%, p = 0.02). However, the treat-and-extend treatment regimen was accompanied by significantly more administered IAIs (6 ± 0 vs 5.13 ± 1.08, p = 0.006).
Conclusion:
We highlighted the superiority of treat-and-extend regime with IAIs, which seems to yield better functional outcomes by preventing recurrence and subfoveal fibrosis, although a greater number of injections is required.
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