Visual acuity outcomes and influencing factors in a cohort of UK real-world diabetic macular oedema patients during the first two years of anti-VEGF treatment.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The visual acuity (VA) outcomes after the first and second years of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) treatment in patients with diabetic macular oedema (DMO) were evaluated, and the factors associated with treatment success were investigated. METHODS: Using Medisoft electronic medical records (UK), this retrospective cohort study analysed VA outcomes, changes, and determinants in DMO patients at year 1 and year 2 after initial anti-VEGF injection. Descriptive analysis examined baseline demographics and clinical characteristics, while regression models were used to assess associations between these factors and changes in VA. RESULTS: 728 DMO patients (1035 eyes) treated with anti-VEGFs (ranibizumab, aflibercept, or bevacizumab) at the Northern Ireland Mater Macular Clinic from 2008 to 2021 were evaluated. The mean age was 64.5 (SD 12.8) years, and 59.6% were male. In the first year, the median annual injection number and interval were 6.0 (IQR 5.0-8.0) and 6.1 weeks (IQR 5.4-7.8), respectively, and in the second year, they were 3.0 (IQR 2.0-5.0) and 10.0 weeks (IQR 6.5-20.1). In the first two treatment years, 83.4% and 79.8% of eyes had improved/stable VA (ISVA) respectively. The injection number, interval, baseline VA, age, and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) significantly impacted VA outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Our study confirms the effectiveness of anti-VEGF treatments in improving or maintaining vision for DMO patients, consistent with previous real-world clinical data. An elder age, a better baseline VA, low annual injection numbers (<5), and less frequent injection intervals (≥12 weeks) were negatively associated with ISVA success in the first two years. These findings have implications for managing patient expectations, allocating resources, and understanding DMO clinical management.