Two-year results of photodynamic therapy with or without intravitreal ranibizumab for polypoidal choroidal...

To compare the 2-year outcomes of photodynamic therapy (PDT) with or without intravitreal ranibizumab (IVR) for polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV).

Medical charts from 58 patients with PCV, who had been followed up for more than 2 years after initial treatment, were reviewed retrospectively. Visual outcomes were compared between 2 groups, consisting of 34 patients treated with PDT monotherapy without IVR and 24 with the combination of PDT and IVR, and the factors associated with the 2-year visual outcomes were investigated using multiple regression analysis.

In the PDT monotherapy group, the logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) of the best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) improved significantly at 12 months (P=0.026), but was not significantly different from the initial logMAR BCVA at 24 months (P=0.21). By contrast, the logMAR BCVA improved significantly at 12 months and was maintained throughout the second 12-month period (P<0.001 at all time points) in the combined PDT group. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the initial BCVA (P<0.001), the greatest linear dimension of the initial PDT (P=0.006), and the combined PDT (P=0.039) were predictors of visual outcomes at 24 months.

Combined PDT with IVR is a better treatment modality compared with PDT monotherapy, and results in improvement of visual outcomes at 24 months after the initial treatment.