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. 2015 Mar;29(3):403-8.
doi: 10.1038/eye.2014.296. Epub 2015 Jan 16.

Prevalence and incidence of blindness and other degrees of sight impairment in patients treated for neovascular age-related macular degeneration in a well-defined region of the United Kingdom

M Buckle  1 , A Lee  2 , Q Mohamed  1 , E Fletcher  1 , A Sallam  1 , R Healy  1 , I Stratton  3 , A Tufail  2 , R L Johnston  1
Affiliations

Prevalence and incidence of blindness and other degrees of sight impairment in patients treated for neovascular age-related macular degeneration in a well-defined region of the United Kingdom

M Buckle et al. Eye (Lond). 2015 Mar.

Abstract

Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the incidence and prevalence of blindness, sight impairment, and other visual acuity (VA) states in patients receiving ranibizumab for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) in Gloucestershire.

Methods: Serial VA and injection data for all treatment-naive patients receiving their first intravitreal injections of ranibizumab for nAMD in the Gloucestershire National Health Service Ophthalmology department between 2008 and 2010 were extracted from an electronic medical record system.

Results: The prevalence of blindness (VA in the better-seeing eye ≤25 Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) letters) at the time of first intravitreal injection was 0.8%, increasing to 3.5% after 3 years. The prevalence of sight impairment (VA in the better-seeing eye 26-39 ETDRS letters) increased from 4.1% at baseline to 5.5% after 3 years. The incidence of initiating ranibizumab treatment for nAMD in people aged ≥50 years in Gloucestershire was 111 people per 100 000 population in 2009, and 97 people in 2010. The incidence of patients meeting the visual criteria for blindness and sight impairment registration from treated nAMD in people aged ≥50 years in Gloucestershire was 3.5 and 9.7 people, respectively per 100 000 population in 2010.

Conclusion: This is the first real-world study on the incidence and prevalence of eligibility for blindness and sight impairment registration in treated nAMD in the UK based on VA data. The incidence and prevalence of eligibility for certification of blindness or sight impairment in patients treated with ranibizumab for nAMD is low in Gloucestershire, with only 3.6% of the incident population progressing to blindness in 2010.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) Baseline VA with habitual correction in the better-seeing eye for all patients at baseline by year of first injection (b) VA with habitual correction in the better-seeing eye for all patients at annual time points from first injection. ETDRS letters are shown.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Kaplan–Meier chart of new blindness.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Kaplan–Meier chart of new sight impairment.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Kaplan–Meier chart of loss of the driving standard VA.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

  • Certification figures and their accuracy.
    Quartilho A, Zekite A, Xing W, Loutfi M, Bunce C, Wormald R. Quartilho A, et al. Eye (Lond). 2015 Nov;29(11):1516. doi: 10.1038/eye.2015.143. Epub 2015 Jul 31. Eye (Lond). 2015. PMID: 26228289 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

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