Low recurrence rate after intravitreal anti-VEGF injection in ROP

Treatment with intravitreal anti-VEGF for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is successful with a low rate of primary failure and recurrence, according to a study.

In this retrospective study, the medical records of 441 patients (865 eyes) with ROP treated with intravitreal bevacizumab were analyzed.

Mean gestational age was 28 ± 2 weeks and birth weight was 1121 ± 312 g. Of the 187 eyes in zone 1 and the 678 eyes in zone 2, 18 eyes and 17 eyes, had primary failure, respectively.

The mean time of retreatment was 16.64 ± 13.68 days in eyes without regression ROP. The 830 remaining eyes were included in the recurrence analysis.

Overall, 33 eyes in 20 patients experience recurrence at a mean of 77.52 days after the first treatment with bevacizumab. Patients with plus disease, history of oxygen therapy or phototherapy, and gestational age <32 weeks were associated with significantly increased prevalence of treatment failure.

Lower birth weight, zone 1 pretreatment, history of intubation, anemia, and sepsis were identified as risk factors that predict recurrence.

Reference
Fadakar K, Mehrabi Bahar M, Riazi-Esfahani H, et al. Intravitreal bevacizumab to treat retinopathy of prematurity in 865 eyes: a study to determine predictors of primary treatment failure and recurrence. Int Ophthalmol. 2022;doi: 10.1007/s10792-021-02198-x. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35059928.