Regimen With Fewer Injections Effective for Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Treat-and-extend regimens required fewer injections but were just as effective as fixed-dose regimens for the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published in the European Journal of Ophthalmology.

The study included four randomized clinical trials comparing treat-and-extend with fixed-regimen protocols in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration. Researchers were most interested in changes in mean best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) associated with each treatment protocol.

Pooled analysis of all four trials at 12 months, and two of the trials at 24 months, found no difference in mean BCVA change between the treatment protocols, according to the study. Additionally, pooled analysis of three studies at 12 months found no difference between the treatment protocols for change in mean optical coherence tomography-measured central retinal thickness.

Average number of injections did differ between protocols, however. Pooled analysis of all four trials at 12 months, and two trials at 24 months, showed significantly fewer injections with treat-and-extend regimens. Standardized mean differences were -1.11 at 12 months and -1.34 at 24 months, the study reported.

Reference:
Fallico M, Lotery AJ, Longo A, et al. Treat and extend versus fixed regimen in neovascular age related macular degeneration: a systematic review and meta-analysis. European Journal of Ophthalmology. 2021;31(5):2496-2504.