Objective: To compare visual acuity (VA) outcomes after bevacizumab or ranibizumab treatment for AMD.
Design: Comparative, retrospective case series.
Participants: We followed 452 patients in a retrospective study of exudative AMD treated with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor drugs; 324 patients were treated with bevacizumab and 128 patients with ranibizumab.
Methods: All treatment-naïve patients who received either bevacizumab or ranibizumab were followed for 1 year. Baseline characteristics and VA were recorded using standard descriptive statistics.
Main outcome measures: Visual acuity.
Results: At 12 months, the distribution of VA improved in both groups with 22.9% of bevacizumab and 25.0% of ranibizumab attaining >or=20/40. Improvement in vision was observed in 27.3% of the bevacizumab group and 20.2% of the ranibizumab group. The mean number of injections at 12 months was 4.4 for bevacizumab and 6.2 for ranibizumab. There were 8 (2%) deaths in the bevacizumab group and 4 (3%) in the ranibizumab group. Two patients developed endophthalmitis in the bevacizumab group and the ranibizumab group. The bevacizumab group had slightly worse acuity at baseline, but both groups showed improvement and stability of vision over time.
Conclusions: Both treatments seem to be effective in stabilizing VA loss. There was no difference in VA outcome between the 2 treatment groups. Because the study is a nonrandomized comparison, selection bias could mask a true treatment difference. Results from the Comparison of the Age-related Macular Degeneration Treatment Trials will provide more definitive information about the comparative effectiveness of these drugs.
Copyright (c) 2010 American Academy of Ophthalmology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.