Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Wong, David T
• Lambrou, George N
• Loewenstein, Anat
• Pearce, Ian
• Okada, Annabelle A

Titel

SUSPENDING TREATMENT OF NEOVASCULAR AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION IN CASES OF FUTILITY

Ist Teil von

• Retina (Philadelphia, Pa.), 2020-06, Vol.40 (6), p.1010

Ort / Verlag

United States

Erscheinungsjahr

2020

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• To provide guidance on the management of patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration and its subtypes who respond poorly to anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapy, and to identify cases where suspending anti-VEGF treatment may be warranted. Through a literature review and the combined knowledge and clinical experience of retinal experts, the Steering Committee of the Bayer-sponsored Vision Academy developed an algorithm for determining when to suspend anti-VEGF treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration in cases of futility. Consideration of factors that may cause suboptimal response to anti-VEGF therapy, such as undertreatment or misdiagnosis of the underlying condition, and factors that may preclude continued treatment, such as injection- or drug-induced complications, is necessary for adjusting treatment protocols in patients who respond poorly to anti-VEGF. If poor response to treatment persists after switching to an alternative anti-VEGF agent and no change in response is observed after withholding treatment for a predetermined period of time ("treatment pause"), anti-VEGF treatment may be considered futile and should be suspended. This publication introduces an algorithm to guide the management of neovascular age-related macular degeneration in patients showing poor response to anti-VEGF treatment and provides expert guidance for suspending anti-VEGF treatment in cases of futility.