Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
TURKIYE KLINIKLERI TIP BILIMLERI DERGISI, cilt.30, sa.3, ss.978-984, 2010 (SCI-Expanded)
Objective: The aim of this study is to review our experience with Pegaptanib in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and to determine whether outcomes would be improved by combining Pegaptanib with photodynamic therapy (PDT). Material and Methods: Institutional, retrospective case series. The charts of 20 patients with neovascular AMD who received Pegaptanib monotherapy or combined ocular PDT with Verteporfin were retrospectively reviewed. Main outcome measures consisted of the number of treatments applied, Snellen best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), angiographic lesion characteristics and center field thickness (CFT) in optical coherence tomography (OCT). Results: Average follow-up time was 7.7 months (range, 3-12 months). Ten patients (50%) were in Pegaptanib monotherapy group (Group A) and 10 patients were in combination therapy with PDT group (Group B). Patients in both groups received 2 to 9 (mean, 5.2) Pegaptanib injections. Group B received 1 to 4 (mean, 1.8) PDT treatments. Initial BCVA ranged from 20/50 to 20/3200 (mean, 20/509), final BCVA ranged from 20/70 to 20/3200 (mean, 20/759). In group A, the mean initial and final BCVA were 20/650 and 20/617, respectively (p= 0.590). The corresponding numbers in group B were 20/398 and 20/1060, respectively (p= 0.062). Four of the 10 eyes (40%) in Group B lost three lines or more. None of the eyes in Group A lost three lines or more vision (p= 0.087). There was neither significant change in the lesion size (p= 0.513), nor in CFT (315 mu m to 268 mu m, p= 0.99). Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that combined ocular PDT and Pegaptanib treatment may not be superior to Pegaptanib alone in patients with neovascular AMD. Further studies are needed.