This article is part of Ophthalmology Advisor’s Focus on Retina coverage from the 2021 meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, held in New Orleans from November 12 to 15, 2021. The team at Ophthalmology Advisor will be reporting on a variety of the research presented by the retinal experts at the AAO. Check back for more from the AAO 2021 Meeting.

Patients with diabetic macular edema who switched from aflibercept (AFL) injections to ranibizumab prefilled syringes (RBZ-PFS) experienced significant reduction in central retinal thickness (CRT) and improved visual acuity, according to presenters at the American Academy of Ophthalmology 2021 meeting, held in New Orleans November 12-15.

The main reasoning for the switch in medication was due to lack of response to AFL with 82.6% of patients exhibiting persistent fluid, 2.2% having vision loss, and 2.2% experiencing unsatisfactory vision gains. In the 1.9 years-long study, patients received a median of 8.5 AFL injections before switching to RBZ-PFS. The median time between the last injection of AFL that patients received and their first injection of RBZ-PFS was 1.3 months. The average time the medication was administered was 4.7 weeks.

The results measured both CRT and VA at 90 days after the switch in medication. Researchers found that, for patients who switched, CRT was reduced by -23.3 μm (P =.0063) and visual acuity improved to +2.7 letters; P =.0209.

The researchers characterized these changes in CRT and VA as “significant” improvements in diabetic macular edema. They also reported no issues in safety.

Reference

Giunta M, Kalevar A, Trottier P, Cordahi GJ, Adiguzel E. Treatment switch from aflibercept to ranibizumab in Canadian DME patients in a real-world setting: the PRECISE study. Paper presented at: The American Academy of Ophthalmology 2021 Annual Meeting; November 12-15, 2021; New Orleans. Abstract PO339.

Switching to Ranibizumab Prefilled Syringes Significantly Improved DME metrics

Reference

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