[Treatment and cost relationship on visual acuity improvement in age-associated macular degeneration].

BACKGROUND

To relate the visual acuity changes (VA) with the cost of care and treatment with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (AntiVEGF) therapy in patients diagnosed with exudative age-related macular degeneration (exudative AMD).

METHODS

Observational, longitudinal, retrospective study of patients older than 50 years diagnosed with exudative AMD, with a logMAR VA between 0.6 and 0.06, in follow-up and treatment in our tertiary hospital between 01/01/2014 and 31/2014. 12/2018 Results. We included in the study 778 patients, 62.2% female and mean age 79.83±7.94 years, with 957 eyes with exudative AMD. The mean of final VA was (0.65±0.45) and it increased by 3.2% compared to the initial one. The 60.3% of eyes received antiVEGF with ranibizumab, 10.2% with aflibercept and 29.5% mixed treatment. The mixed group significantly increased VA compared to the initial one, with no differences between groups. Although follow-up/treatment was longer for the mixed group, they received fewer anti-VEGF injections and optical coherence tomography (OCT). The total expenditure per year and treated eye was € 1,972.7±824.5; costs were higher for visit, OCT, and treatment in the aflibercept group, and lower for fluorescein angiography, antiVEGF treatment, and total costs in the mixed group. Decimal VA gain had a cost of € 872±1,077.7 with no significant differences between groups.

CONCLUSION

AntiVEGF treatments (ranibizumab, aflibercept and both) maintained VA in patients with exudative AMD. In general, care and treatment costs were lower in the group that received both drugs.