The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of delays experienced with scheduled IVI treatments in patients who were treated in our clinic using the T&E protocol, using data collected during the COVID-19 pandemic as a test case. found that missing scheduled IVI treatments can cause reduced treatment efficacy and poorer visual outcome in patients with DME. reported a low risk of substantial vision loss (i.e., ≥ 2 lines) when in patients treated using anti-VEGF IVI therapy, regardless of the persistence of edema on the other hand, Weiss et al. Similarly, inadequately treating central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) can adversely affect visual outcome. In addition, an increase (or new onset) of retinal fluid is more likely to cause vision loss compared to either a lack of fluid or persistent fluid. Previous studies suggest that inadequately treating nvAMD can result in poor visual outcome moreover, intraretinal fluid (IRF) can have a worse effect on vision compared to subretinal fluid (SRF). Recent reports regarding compliance with anti-VEGF treatment schedules have documented a decrease of up to 50% in the number of planned IVI treatments during the pandemic compared to the corresponding pre-pandemic period The COVID-19 pandemic has severely disrupted standard patient care worldwide, leading to deviations and/or delays in the planned treatment schedule in many patients, due primarily to difficulties related to treatment access and/or patient fears of contracting the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Nevertheless, limited data is available regarding the consequences of deviating from the recommended treatment schedule. The T&E approach has been shown to achieve similar visual and anatomical outcomes compared to PRN ( pro re nata) and monthly treatment regimens for nvAMD and DME. Additionaly, a treat-and-extend (T&E) regimen in which the treatment interval is progressively extended is often used to resolve the retinal and/or subretinal exudates often associated with these conditions and prevent their recurrence. Neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nvAMD), diabetic macular edema (DME), and macular edema associated with retinal vein occlusion (RVO) are often treated long-term with intravitreal injections (IVI) of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) in order to prevent progressive vision loss.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |