Real-World Evidence for Treat-and-Extend Regimen of Ranibizumab Therapy for Macular Oedema Secondary to Branch Retinal Vein Occlusion

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a treat-and-extend (T&E) regimen of ranibizumab as the first-choice treatment in macular oedema (MO) secondary to branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO). We conducted a retrospective study of 20 patients who developed MO due to BRVO treated with intravitreal ranibizumab in a T&E regimen between 2016 and 2017 with a minimum follow-up of two years. Patients were classified as complete responders if treated with ranibizumab alone or incomplete responders if salvage treatment with other medications or laser was needed. Data on best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and central macular thickness (CMT) every 6 months were recorded. The mean BCVA (logMAR) improved from 0.60 ± 0.36 to 0.29 ± 0.44 and the CMT decreased from 559.85 ± 198.61 to 305.85 ± 11.78 μm. We found statistically significant differences between complete and incomplete responders on the average number of injections during the second year (2.46 ± 2.18 compared to 5.43 ± 1.27; p = 0.007) and change of the BCVA and CMT between both groups (p < 0.001) at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months. T&E seems to be effective in MO secondary to BRVO, improving visual function and decreasing CMT, with less need for injections.

Keywords

• branch retinal vein occlusion
• macular oedema
• anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF)
• ranibizumab
• treat-and-extend regimen