A real-world study assessing the impact of retinal fluid on visual acuity outcomes in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration in Korea

• Published in: Scientific reports 2022-08, Vol.12 (1), p.14166-14166, Article 14166
• Main Authors: Kim, Jae Hui, Sagong, Min, Woo, Se Joon, Kim, Yu Cheol, Cho, Heeyoon, Lee, Young Hoon, Byon, Iksoo, Jo, Young Joon, Chin, Hee Seung, Lee, Youkyung, Chae, Jae Eun, Kang, Se Woong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 692/699/3161/1626; 692/699/3161/3163; Acuity; Age; Humanities and Social Sciences; Macular degeneration; Medical records; multidisciplinary; Patients; Retina; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Vascular endothelial growth factor; Visual acuity
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-18158-z

To evaluate the real-world treatment outcomes in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) in Korea, focusing on retinal fluid resolution. This multi-institutional retrospective chart review study, analyzed medical records of patients with nAMD (age ≥ 50 years) who received their first anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) treatment in ophthalmology clinics across South Korea between January 2017 and March 2019. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients with retinal fluid after 12 months of anti-VEGF treatment. The association between fluid-free period and VA gains was also evaluated. A total of 600 patients were enrolled. At baseline, 97.16% of patients had retinal fluid; after 12 months of anti-VEGF treatment, 58.10% of patients had persistent retinal fluid. VA improvements were relatively better in patients with absence of retinal fluid compared with presence of retinal fluid (+ 12.29 letters vs. + 6.45 letters at month 12; P