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Real world treatment outcomes in polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy in a Caucasian population of British ethnicity

Eye (2024)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Purpose

To assess treatment response of Polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) in a Caucasian population of British ethnicity with intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) injections alone and with a combination of anti-VEGF injections and photodynamic therapy (PDT).

Setting/venue

Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom.

Methods

Retrospective review of 95 Caucasian patients in a single centre with diagnosis of PCV between 2013 and 2018 were included. Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), central retinal thickness (CRT), indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) characteristics, numbers and type of treatment were analysed at baseline and at 1 year.

Results

One hundred and one eyes included from 95 patients received either anti-VEGF injections (n = 79, 78.2%) alone or combination therapy with anti-VEGF and PDT (n = 6, 6%). A third untreated group was also observed (n = 16, 15.8%). Five eyes were excluded from the study due to structural retinal damage. Mean number of injections was 7.3 in the monotherapy group and 6.5 in the combination group. Both treatment groups showed improvement in BCVA at 1 year and this was statistically significant in the monotherapy group with a mean gain of 8.3 letters (p < 0.001). Mean CRT decreased in all treatment groups at twelve months and this change was significant (p < 0.01). In the observation group, vision and CRT remained stable.

Conclusions

This study demonstrates significant improvements in BCVA at one year in our Caucasian cohort of British ethnicity with PCV in the treatment group.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are not openly available due to the sensitive nature, are all anonymised and available upon reasonable request at the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust as per the applicable Trust data protection policy.

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Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Gabriella De Salvo, Suresh Thulasidharan.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK

    Gabriella De Salvo, Suresh Thulasidharan, Ramez Barbara, Alison Penwarden & Nishant Aggarwal

  2. Ophthalmology unit, Department of Surgery, Piacenza Hospital, Piacenza, Italy

    Rino Frisina

Authors
  1. Gabriella De Salvo
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  2. Suresh Thulasidharan
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  3. Ramez Barbara
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  4. Alison Penwarden
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  5. Nishant Aggarwal
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  6. Rino Frisina
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Contributions

GDS developed the concept of the study, contributed to writing the article and did supervision of the project. ST contributed the writing of the article, data collection, interpretation and analysis. RB, AP, NA collaborated in initial data collection and contribution to the first draft. RF contributed to writing the article and also supervised the project.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gabriella De Salvo.

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Competing interests

GDS – is Advisory Board member to Novartis, Bayer, Teva, Allergan and Apellis. She has received Travel grants from Heidelberg Engineering, Novartis, Bayer, Roche, Allergan and also received educational grant from Bayer. She has also done Consultancy work to Boehringer Ingelheim. Dr De Salvo also serves as the section editor to the Eye Journal. RF – is a member of the editorial board to the Eye Journal. The remaining authors decalre no competing interests.

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De Salvo, G., Thulasidharan, S., Barbara, R. et al. Real world treatment outcomes in polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy in a Caucasian population of British ethnicity. Eye (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41433-024-03221-y

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