Intravitreal bevacizumab (Avastin) for neovascular age-related macular degeneration: A short-term study

PURPOSE: To report the short-term study of intravitreal bevacizurnab (Avastin) in the treatment of neovascular age,related macular degeneration (AMD). DESIGN: Interventional, consecutive, prospective case series. METHODS: One hundred and two eyes of 102 patients with neovascular AMD received monthly intravitreal bevacizumab (Avastin) (1.25 mg) until resolution of macular edema, subretinal fluid, and/or pigment epithelial detachment. Outcome measures included visual acuity (VA) and central retinal thickness as defined from optical coherence tomography (OCT). RESULTS: Mean VA was 20/80 and OCT central retinal thickness was 251.0 +/- 74.6 mu m before injection and improved to 20/63 and 214.9 +/- 41.7 mu m at six weeks (P < .001), 20/50 and 204.8 +/- 33.6 mu m at 10 weeks (P < .001), and remained stable at 20/50 and 210 mu m after 14 weeks (P < .05). No significant ocular or systemic side effects were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Intravitreal bevacizumab (Avastin) appears to be beneficial and well tolerated in the treatment of neovascular AMD in the short term. Further comparative evaluation against other antivascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agents and dosing schedule is warranted.