Around 20-25% of patients who receive anti-VEGF treatment are lost to follow-up

16 Jan 2019
 
Two recent studies in the Unites States looking at real-world outcomes for anti-VEGF treatment have found that around 20 – 25% of patients with either wet (neovascular) age-related macular degeneration (AMD) or diabetic macular edema (DME) did not have a follow-up visit for at least one year after being treated with an anti-VEGF injection.
 
The first study involved 9007 patients with wet (neovascular) age-related macular degeneration (AMD) who were treated between 2012 and 2016. The researchers reported that 2003 patients (22.2%) did not have a follow-up visit for at least one year after receiving one or more anti-VEGF injections
 
The second study involved 1632 patients with diabetic macular edema (DME) who were treated between 2012 and 2017. The researchers reported that 413 patients (25.3%) did not have a follow-up visit for at least one year after receiving one or more anti-VEGF injections.
 
Both studies found several risk factors associated with non-adherence to treatment – some of these include older age, lower income, greater distance from clinic to patient’s home, treatment to one eye only and a lower level of vision at the commencement of treatment. 
 
The results show that a considerable number of patients with wet AMD or DME were lost to follow-up after anti-VEGF injections. 
 
Because of the importance of ongoing treatment for these conditions, the authors concluded that these real-world findings may help identify patients who may be at risk of non-adherence to treatment.
 
More understanding of the scope of the issue would allow interventions to be designed to improve adherence.