Long-term visual outcome and prognostic factors after intravitreal ranibizumab injections for polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy.

PURPOSE: To evaluate long-term visual outcome and investigate the prognostic factors after anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy for polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV).

DESIGN: Retrospective study.

METHODS: Analyses were done among 36 eyes (36 patients) with naïve PCV that were treated with intravitreal ranibizumab injections and completed at least 3-year follow-up. All clinical data, including baseline characteristics; imaging data from fluorescein angiography, indocyanine green angiography, and optical coherence tomography; presence of recurrence; and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) were investigated.

RESULTS: During mean follow-up of 42.58 ± 12.59 months, mean numbers of anti-VEGF injection were 11.45 ± 7.81. Twenty-four eyes (66.7%) showed at least 1 recurrence during follow-up. Mean baseline BCVA was 0.68 ± 0.43 logMAR (20/95 Snellen equivalent), and 0.78 ± 0.53 logMAR (20/120 Snellen equivalent) at 36 months (P = .307). Mean BCVA was significantly improved at 1 month (P = .018), and improvement was maintained until 12 months (P = .044), then deteriorated. Among baseline characteristics, greatest lesion diameter (B = 0.219, P = .001) and pigment epithelial detachment (B = 0.362, P = .025) were significantly correlated with long-term visual outcome. Recurrence during follow-up (B = 0.371, P = .024) was also significantly correlated with long-term visual outcome.

CONCLUSION: Significant visual improvement by anti-VEGF therapy was maintained during the first year of initial treatment; however, vision then deteriorated during long-term follow-up. Smaller lesion size, absence of pigment epithelial detachment at baseline, and no recurrence during follow-up were significantly correlated with better long-term visual outcome.