Vision-Related Function after Ranibizumab Treatment for Diabetic Macular Edema

Objective: To examine the effects of intravitreal ranibizumab (Lucentis; Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, CA) treatment on patient-reported vision-related function, as assessed by 25-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI VFQ-25) scores, in patients with visual impairment secondary to center-involved diabetic macular edema (DME). Design: Within 2 randomized, double-masked, phase 3 clinical trials (RIDE [A Study of Ranibizumab Injection in Subjects With Clinically Significant Macular Edema {ME} With Center Involvement Secondary to Diabetes Mellitus; NCT00473382] and RISE [A Study of Ranibizumab Injection in Subjects With Clinically Significant Macular Edema {ME} With Center Involvement Secondary to Diabetes Mellitus; NCT00473330]), the NEI VFQ-25 was administered at baseline and at the 6-, 12-, 18-, and 24-month follow-up visits. Participants: Three hundred eighty-two (100%) RIDE patients and 377 (100%) RISE patients. Intervention: Patients were randomized 1: 1: 1 to monthly injections of intravitreal ranibizumab 0.3 or 0.5 mg or sham. Study participants could receive macular laser for DME from month 3 onward if specific criteria were met. Main Outcome Measures: Exploratory post hoc analysis of mean change from baseline in NEI VFQ-25 scores at 12 and 24 months. Results: Across all treatment arms, 13% to 28% of enrolled eyes were the better-seeing eye. For all eyes in RIDE and RISE, the mean change in NEI VFQ-25 composite score improved more in ranibizumab-treated eyes at both the 12- and 24-month visits compared with sham treatment. For the better-seeing eyes at baseline, the mean change in composite score with 0.3 mg ranibizumab at the 24-month visit was 10.9 more (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.5-19.2) than sham for RIDE patients and 1.3 more (95% CI, -10.5 to 13.0) than sham for RISE patients. For the worse-seeing eyes at baseline, the mean change in composite score with 0.3 mg ranibizumab at the 24-month visit was 1.0 more (95% CI, -4.7 to 6.7) than sham for RIDE patients and 1.8 more (95% CI, -2.7 to 6.2) than sham for RISE patients. Similar results for most of these outcomes were seen with 0.5 mg ranibizumab. Conclusions: These phase 3 trials demonstrated that ranibizumab treatment for DME likely improves patient-reported vision-related function outcomes compared with sham, further supporting treatment of DME with ranibizumab. (C) 2014 by the American Academy of Ophthalmology.