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. 2021 Jun 22:12:20406223211026389.
doi: 10.1177/20406223211026389. eCollection 2021.

The influence of delayed treatment due to COVID-19 on patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy

Xinyu Zhao  1 , Lihui Meng  1 , Mingyue Luo  1 , Weihong Yu  1 , Hanyi Min  1 , Rongping Dai  1 , Adrian Koh  2 , Youxin Chen  3
Affiliations

The influence of delayed treatment due to COVID-19 on patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy

Xinyu Zhao et al. Ther Adv Chronic Dis. .

Abstract

Purpose: To explore the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the prognosis of patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV), and share the experience in managing them during pandemics.

Method: This is a retrospective study of nAMD and PCV patients treated at Peking Union Medical College Hospital from 31 December 2019 to 1 August 2020. Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics, best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), optical coherence tomography (OCT) features, duration of delayed treatment and number of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injections were analyzed.

Results: A total of 130 nAMD patients (155 eyes) and 76 PCV patients (89 eyes) were identified. Compared to the conditions before COVID-19, the BCVA of delayed cases decreased significantly, and the proportion of patients presenting with sub-macular scar was significantly greater in the delayed treatment group (p < 0.05). The BCVA of non-delayed cases remained stable, with the percentage of patients with disease activity sub-retinal fluid and hemorrhage at the fovea decreasing significantly (p < 0.05). The stable cases who did not require anti-VEGF treatment had significantly worse baseline and final BCVA, these patients were likely to be chronic and 'burnt out' cases with significantly worse anatomical structures (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: The delayed cases due to the pandemic suffered compromised visual function and a higher rate of sub-macular scar formation, while the visual function of non-delayed cases remained stable with favorable anatomical outcomes, suggesting the importance of regular follow-up for nAMD and PCV patients. Besides, effective measures of hospitals during pandemics are crucial to provide timely treatment for chronic disease.

Keywords: COVID-19; neovascular age-related macular degeneration; polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy; prognosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
The flow chart of data collection.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Schematic illustration of our experiences in dealing with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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