ArticleActa ophthalmologica2022
The impact of compliance among patients with diabetic macular oedema treated with intravitreal aflibercept: a 48-month follow-up study.
Article in Acta ophthalmologica, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- Clinical practice guidelines for the treatment and management of diabetic macular oedema: a systematic review.Eye (London, England) · 2025Pooled it
- Non-adherence and non-persistence to intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Remote Management of Patients With Diabetic Macular Edema Receiving Long-Term Intravitreal Anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Therapy (RE-SHINE Study): Protocol for a Real-World Study.JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- Usability Evaluation of a Macular Quantitative Square Grid Self-Examination Application in Patients With Macular Disease: Mixed Methods Study.JMIR human factors · 2026Article
- Intravitreal Fluocinolone Acetonide Implant for Diabetic Macular Edema: 2-Year Results from IDEAL, a Prospective German Observational Study.Ophthalmologica. Journal international d'ophtalmologie. International journal of ophthalmology. Zeitschrift fur Augenheilkunde · 2026Observational
- The Association of Lapses in Diabetic Retinopathy Care with Vision Impairment.Ophthalmology science · 2026Article
- Nonadherence to anti-VEGF intravitreal injections in patients with diabetic macular edema : The names of the authors.Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie · 2025Review
- Exploring the factors influencing the timely intravitreal anti-VEGF treatment in patients with diabetic macular edema: a qualitative interview study using the COM-B model.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Intravitreal Dexamethasone Implant in Anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Pretreated Diabetic Macular Edema-A Swiss Cohort Study.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Article
- Brolucizumab in Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Diabetic Macular Edema: Ophthalmology and Diabetology Treatment Aspects.Ophthalmology and therapy · 2023Article
- REal-world treatment outcomes after delayed intRavitreal therapy in center-involving diabetic macular edema - RETORT study.International journal of retina and vitreous · 2023Article
- Article
- Extended Intraocular Drug-Delivery Platforms for the Treatment of Retinal and Choroidal Diseases.Journal of vitreoretinal diseasesReview
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThis study aimed to compare anatomical and functional outcomes between patients with non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) with diabetic macular oedema (DME) who adhered to intravitreal aflibercept therapy and patients lost to follow-up (LTFU).
methodsWe enrolled 200 patients and recorded the interval between each procedure and the subsequent follow-up visit. Moreover, visual acuity (VA) and anatomical outcomes were measured at each follow-up examination.
resultsAmong the patients, 103 (51%) patients adhered to intravitreal aflibercept therapy and follow-up examination while 97 (49%) patients were LTFU. Forty-six (47%) patients LTFU who returned for further treatment showed a significant decrease in VA from 0.51 (±0.46) to 0.89 (±0.38) logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) after 48 months (p = 0.004). Compared with the adherent group, the return group showed a worse VA at 48 months (p = 0.036). Further, 1 (1%) patient in the adherent group and 8 (17%) patients in the return group developed a proliferative DR. Patients who were LTFU had a 13.0 times greater chance to develop a proliferative DR (p = 0.022).
conclusionsPatients who did not adhere to intravitreal aflibercept therapy for DME showed significantly worse visual outcomes compared to patients with good therapy adherence. Moreover, patients with LTFU had a 13 times higher risk of developing a proliferative DR. Considering the potential disease progress, better strategies should be applied to optimize the functional outcome of patients at risk of reduced adherence.
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