Diabetic Macular Edema Treated With Intravitreal Aflibercept Injection After Treatment With Other Anti-VEGF Agents...

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Retinal Diseases
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Diabetic macular edema (DME) is a leading cause of vision loss in diabetic patients.
• Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) agents are standard treatments for DME.
• Optimizing treatment regimens for DME remains an area of active research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the 12-month outcomes of patients with DME transitioning to a fixed dosing regimen of intravitreal aflibercept (IAI).
• To assess the efficacy of fixed-dose IAI in patients previously treated with other anti-VEGF agents.

Main Methods:

• Prospective, single-arm study involving 20 eyes with DME.
• Initial treatment with IAI 2 mg every 4 weeks until no fluid detected by optical coherence tomography (OCT).
• Subsequent fixed dosing of IAI 2 mg every 8 weeks for 12 months, with OCT for monitoring.

Main Results:

• Mean central subfield thickness (CST) significantly improved from 419.7 µm at baseline to 287.2 µm at 12 months (P < .001).
• Superficial capillary perfusion density (CPD) decreased from 46.0% to 43.6% (P = .04), and deep CPD decreased from 50.8% to 47.6% (P = .05).
• No significant changes in best-corrected visual acuity were observed.

Conclusions:

• Fixed-dose intravitreal aflibercept (IAI) demonstrated significant anatomic improvements in patients with DME at 12 months.
• The transition to fixed-dose IAI led to significant reductions in both superficial and deep capillary perfusion density.
• While anatomical improvements were noted, visual acuity remained stable, suggesting a need for further investigation into long-term visual outcomes.