Cataract Surgery in nAMD Patients Receiving Intravitreal Aflibercept Injections

• Published in: Journal of clinical medicine 2024-06, Vol.13 (13), p.3832
• Main Authors: Seredyka-Burduk, Małgorzata, Liberski, Slawomir, Malukiewicz, Grażyna, Kocięcki, Jarosław, Kaluzny, Bartlomiej J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Blindness; Cataracts; Comorbidity; Eye surgery; Hemorrhage; Intraocular lenses; Kopernik, Mikolaj (Nicolaus Copernicus) (1473-1543); Laboratories; Macular degeneration; Medical imaging; Older people; Patients; Postoperative period; Statistical analysis; Visual acuity; Visual impairment
• ISSN: 2077-0383; 2077-0383
• DOI: 10.3390/jcm13133832

To evaluate functional and anatomical outcomesof cataract surgery in neovascular age-related macular neovascularization (nAMD) eyes receiving anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) intravitreal injections in modified pro re nata (PRN) regimen. Sixty eyes of 60 nAMD patients, including 41 women (68.3%) and 19 men (31.7%) in an average age of 77.35 ± 6.41 years, under treatment with intravitreal aflibercept injections in modified PRN regimen with no signs of macular neovascularization (MNV) activity during two consecutive visits were included in this prospective, observational study. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), central retinal thickness (CRT), as well as the number of anti-VEGF injections were monitored six months before and after phacoemulsification with intraocular lens (IOL) implantation. Further, the change of the abovementioned parameters was assessed during the six-month follow-up period for CRT and the number of injections, while the BCVA was monitored for 54 months. BCVA measured on the first day after surgery (0.17 ± 0.19 logMAR) as well as in the six-month post-surgery (0.13 ± 0.16 logMAR) significantly improved compared to preop values (0.42 ± 0.20 logMAR). BCVA remains stable during the observational period. We found that both differences were statistically significant ( < 0.01). The mean CRT and the mean number of injections did not differ between the six-month pre- and post-surgical periods. We showed the beneficial effect of phacoemulsification in nAMD patients treated with anti-VEGF agents on visual outcomes in the short and long term. Cataract surgery in nAMD eyes treated with anti-VEGF injections does not increase the frequency of anti-VEGF injections and does not cause deterioration of the macular status.