SHORT-TERM EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF INTRAVITREAL RANIBIZUMAB FOR MYOPIC CHOROIDAL NEOVASCULARIZATION

Abstract

In Brief Purpose: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of intravitreal ranibizumab in the treatment of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) secondary to pathologic myopia (PM). Metohds: Retrospective, multicenter, consecutive, nonrandomized, interventional case series. Participants: Twenty-six eyes of 26 patients with CNV secondary to pathologic myopia; 11 eyes with previous photodynamic therapy; and 15 eyes with no previous treatment. Follow-up: 3 or more months. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), ocular coherence tomography, and the presence of metamorphopsia were assessed monthly. Results: At 1 month, 31% of the eyes had an improvement in visual acuity of 3 or more lines. Twenty-six eyes completed 3 months of follow-up, and nine eyes completed 6 months of follow-up. Visual acuity improved significantly from 20/100 at baseline to 20/80 at 1 month (P = 0.003) to 20/63 at 3 months (P < 0.001), and 20/50 at 6 months (P = 0.01). A significant reduction in ocular coherence tomography central thickness was observed at 1, 3, and 6 months. No cases of severe visual acuity loss occurred, and no systemic or ocular side effects were registered during the follow-up. Conclusion: Short-term results of intravitreal ranibizumab for myopic CNV are encouraging. Further prospective long-term studies are necessary to evaluate safety and efficacy of intravitreal ranibizumab in the treatment of myopic CNV. Ranibizumab seems to be promising for the treatment of choroidal neovascularization in highly myopic eyes, with or without previous photodynamic therapy. Short-term results show a significant improvement in visual acuity and a significant decrease in central macular thickness at 3 and 6 months with 1.9 and 2.5 injections, respectively.