Anti-VEGF therapy effective for wet AMD with submacular hemorrhage

This retrospective study found that anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) monotherapy was effective for wet AMD with submacular hemorrhage although its efficacy was limited in eyes with large hemorrhage.

The authors believe this to be the largest case series to evaluate the efficacy of anti-VEGF monotherapy for wet AMD accompanied by submacular hemorrhage.

The study included 91 patients (91 eyes) who presented with submacular hemorrhage (~ 7.8 disk areas) secondary to wet AMD and were treated with intravitreal ranibizumab (average of 3.2 injections over six months).

An improvement in three lines or more of BCVA was observed in 59 percent of eyes while a loss of three lines or more was seen in 8.8 percent of eyes. Visual acuity was 20/479 (Snellen equivalent) at baseline and improved to 20/182 at six months.

Poor BCVA at six months correlated with a longer duration of symptoms (P = 0.008), greater extent of hemorrhage (P = 0.004) and greater central foveal thickness (P = 0.014). The authors say these correlations suggest that the exudative lesion itself and the extent of submacular hemorrhage may influence the visual prognosis.