Local factors may play role in adherence to intravitreal therapy for wet AMD

Non-persistence after initiating intravitreal therapy for the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD) is common, especially during the first year of treatment, with several factors potentially impacting persistence, according to a study.

Researchers analyzed data from 7970 eyes of 7112 patients wet AMD to determine factors related to non-persistence with treatment (no monitoring or treatment for ≥6 months).

After excluding patient deaths and eyes that stopped treatment permanently, 77.7% were persistent with treatment during the first year and 71.8% through the second year. Non-persistence was found to be lower at 10 of the 13 sites patients in the study were treated, leading researchers to believe that “local factors in treatment provision may be particularly important.”

The strongest predictors of non-persistence before 2 years were treatment site, baseline visual acuity, and age.

A decrease in visual acuity was often associated with non-persistence.

Reference
Relton SD, Chi GC, Lotery AJ, et al; Real-world AMD treatment outcomes EMR User Group. Associations with non-persistence with intra-vitreal therapy for neovascular age-related macular degeneration at 24 months. Ophthalmologica. 2023 Feb 6. doi: 10.1159/000529446. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36746120.