A Trinity regimen with aflibercept for treatment-naïve neovascular age-related macular degeneration: 2-year outcomes

• Published in: Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology 2020-08, Vol.258 (8), p.1663-1670
• Main Authors: Wakuta, Makiko, Nomi, Nanami, Ogata, Tadahiko, Ota, Manami, Yamashiro, Chiemi, Hatano, Makoto, Yanai, Ryoji, Tokuda, Kazuhiro, Kimura, Kazuhiro
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age; Macular degeneration; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Ophthalmology; Retinal Disorders
• ISSN: 0721-832X; 1435-702X
• DOI: 10.1007/s00417-020-04745-1

Purpose To evaluate the advantages of the Trinity regimen for treatment-naïve neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). Methods Thirty-one treatment–naïve nAMD eyes were treated using the Trinity regimen with an intravitreal aflibercept injection (IVA) and evaluated after 24 months. Three treatment methods, pro re nata (PRN), treat and extend (TAE), and fixed regimen were changed depending on recurrence frequency. After the initial treatment, PRN or TAE (started for 4 or 8 weeks) was selected as per the recurrence interval. Subsequently, the recurrence interval became constant, transitioning from a TAE to fixed regimen. When the recurrence frequency became irregular, the treatment regimen was changed to TAE. Results After the initial treatment, 15 eyes (48.4%) were allocated to the PRN group, 12 (38.7%) to the TAE 8-week group, and 4 (12.9%) to the TAE 4-week group. Mean logMAR significantly improved in all cases, 0.53 ± 0.40 at baseline to 0.36 ± 0.34 at 24 months ( p < 0.01), in the PRN group (0.63 ± 0.46 to 0.42 ± 0.43, p < 0.01), and the TAE 8-week group (0.44 ± 0.29 to 0.27 ± 0.19, p < 0.05). LogMAR in the TAE 4-week group was maintained. The mean number of injections for all and in the PRN, TAE 8-week, and TAE 4-week groups were 9.7, 5.3, 13.1, and 15.8, respectively, with the PRN group being significantly less ( p < 0.01). Conclusion The Trinity regimen delivered the benefits of the PRN, TAE, and FIXED regimens while minimizing injections during the early treatment phase without visual loss. Trial registration This trial was registered with the University Hospital Medical Information Network (UMIN ID: 000038335).