title: One-year results of three monthly ranibizumab injections and as-needed reinjections for polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy in Japanese patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the 1-year outcomes of monthly intravitreal injections of ranibizumab for 3 months followed by an as-needed reinjection schedule to treat polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) in Japanese patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective, consecutive case series.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighty-five eyes of 82 consecutive Japanese patients with naïve symptomatic PCV received monthly intravitreal injections of ranibizumab for 3 months followed by an as-needed reinjection schedule. Eighty-one eyes (95%) followed for 1 year were studied.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A mean of 4.2 ± 1.3 (mean ± standard deviation) injections were administered over 1 year. Twenty-three of 81 eyes (28%) did not require additional injections and 32 eyes (40%) required only 1 injection after the 3 monthly injections. The mean (± standard error) logarithm of minimal angle of resolution (logMAR) visual acuity (VA) at baseline was 0.59 ± 0.37 and improved to 0.37 ± 0.30 (P = .001). Thirty eyes (37%) and 5 eyes (6%), respectively, had improved and decreased VA of 0.3 or more logMAR unit. Indocyanine green angiography showed that the polypoidal lesions resolved in 21 eyes (26%) and 32 eyes (40%) 3 months and 1 year after the first injection, respectively. Abnormal choroidal vessels remained in all eyes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Monthly injections of ranibizumab for 3 months to treat PCV improved the VA, and a reinjection schedule based on need maintained the improved VA. The polypoidal lesions tended to improve over 1 year, whereas abnormal choroidal vessels remained in all eyes. Further long-term follow-up is needed to determine the efficacy of ranibizumab therapy for PCV.
authors.affiliation: Ohtsuka Eye Hospital, Sapporo, Japan. taiichi-hikichi@hokkaido.med.or.jp
authors.forename: Taiichi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hikichi
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Higuchi
authors.forename: Takuro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsushita
authors.forename: Shoko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kosaka
authors.forename: Reiko
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Matsushita
authors.forename: Kimitaka
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takami
authors.forename: Hideo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ohtsuka
authors.forename: Hiroko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ariga
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002829:Choroid / Q000098:blood supply; D015862:Choroid Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D058449:Intravitreal Injections; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016491:Peripheral Vascular Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011127:Polyps / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D000069579:Ranibizumab; D019233:Retreatment; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; C467484:VEGFA protein, human; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D000069579:Ranibizumab