Characteristics of patients lost to follow-up after intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy for exudative age-related macular degeneration

TL;DR

This study found that patients with exudative age-related macular degeneration who live far from hospitals, in rural areas, and with one affected eye are more likely to miss follow-up care after anti-VEGF treatment.

Contribution

Identifies geographic and clinical factors linked to follow-up loss in exudative AMD patients undergoing anti-VEGF therapy.

Findings

Patients lost to follow-up lived significantly farther from the hospital compared to those who maintained follow-up.

A higher proportion of patients lost to follow-up had unilateral disease and resided in rural areas.

No significant differences were found in age, sex, or insurance type between the two groups.

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze and compare the characteristics of patients with exudative age-related macular degeneration who were lost to follow-up after receiving intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor(anti-VEGF) injections versus those who maintained regular follow-up.

This retrospective study included patients who were lost to follow-up for more than 1 year (n = 79) or maintained follow-up (n = 186) after treatment with intravitreal injections of ranibizumab or aflibercept for exudative age-related macular degeneration. Age, sex, place of residence, type of health insurance, distance from the hospital, laterality of involvement, and follow-up duration were analyzed.

There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of age, sex, or type of health insurance. However, patients lost to follow-up resided significantly further from the hospital versus those with regular follow-up (33.1 ± 26.8 vs. 21.6 ± 8.5 km; P = 0.001). A significantly higher proportion of patients that were lost to follow-up had unilateral involvement (P < 0.001) and resided in rural areas (P < 0.001).

Distance from the hospital, rural residency, and unilateral involvement are significantly associated with nonadherence to follow-up among patients with exudative age-related macular degeneration receiving intravitreal anti-VEGF injections.