Korean J Ophthalmol.  2012 Jun;26(3):157-162. 10.3341/kjo.2012.26.3.157.

Short-term Effectiveness of Intravitreal Bevacizumab vs. Ranibizumab Injections for Patients with Polypoidal Choroidal Vasculopathy

• Cho HJ
• Baek JS
• Lee DW
• Kim CG
• Kim JW

• KMID: 1376119
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3341/kjo.2012.26.3.157

Abstract

PURPOSE
To compare the effectiveness of intravitreal injections of bevacizumab and ranibizumab in patients with treatment-naive polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV).
METHODS
Records from 106 consecutive patients who received intraviteral bevacizumab (n = 58, 1.25 mg) or ranibizumab (n = 52, 0.5 mg) for treatment of PCV were retrospectively reviewed. After three initial monthly loading injections, injection was performed as needed. The main outcome measures included best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), foveal central thickness (FCT) as assessed by spectral domain optical coherence tomography, and the changes in polypoidal lesions based on an indocyanine green angiography.
RESULTS
The average number of injections was 3.31 +/- 1.25 in the bevacizumab group and 3.44 +/- 0.92 in the ranibizumab group. Mean logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution of BCVA from baseline to 6 months after injection improved by 0.17 in the bevacizumab group (p = 0.03) and by 0.19 in the ranibizumab group (p = 0.01). Average FCT decreased from 322 +/- 62.48 microm to 274 +/- 40.77 microm in the bevacizumab group (p = 0.02) and from 338 +/- 50.79 microm to 286 +/- 36.93 microm in the ranibizumab group (p = 0.02). Polyp regression rate was 20.7% (12 of 58 eyes) in the bevacizumab group and 21.2% (11 of 52 eyes) in the ranibizumab group. There was no statistically significant difference between groups in BCVA improvement achieved, FCT improvement achieved, and polyp regression rate between groups.
CONCLUSIONS
Intravitreal injections of bevacizumab and ranibizumab have similar effects in stabilizing of visual acuity, macular edema, and regression of polypoidal complex in PCV eyes over the short term.

Keyword

Bevacizumab; Polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy; Ranibizumab

MeSH Terms

Angiogenesis Inhibitors/administration & dosage
Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized/*administration & dosage
Choroid/*blood supply
Choroid Diseases/diagnosis/*drug therapy/physiopathology
Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
Female
Fluorescein Angiography
Follow-Up Studies
Fovea Centralis/pathology
Fundus Oculi
Humans
Intravitreal Injections
Male
Middle Aged
Peripheral Vascular Diseases/diagnosis/*drug therapy/physiopathology
Retrospective Studies
Time Factors
Tomography, Optical Coherence
Treatment Outcome
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A/antagonists & inhibitors
Visual Acuity

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Intravitreal bevacizumab and ranibizumab for polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy: graph showing serial changes in the mean logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) visual acuity from baseline to month 6 post-treatment. The differences in time course between the two groups were not significant. There was a significant decrease in logMAR in both groups.

• 

  Fig. 2 Intravitreal bevacizumab and ranibizumab for polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy: graph showing serial changes in optical coherence tomography and mean foveal center thickness (FCT) from baseline to month 6 post-treatment. The differences in time course between the 2 subgroups were not significant. There was a significant decrease in FCT in both groups.

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