title: Structural, visual and refractive outcomes of intravitreal aflibercept injection in high-risk prethreshold type 1 retinopathy of prematurity.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the structural, visual and refractive outcomes of intravitreal injection of aflibercept monotherapy in patients with high-risk prethreshold type 1 retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective nonrandomized interventional case series study.
  
  
  METHODS
  1 mg/0.025 ml intravitreal aflibercept was administered for patients with high-risk prethreshold type 1 ROP. The primary outcomes studied were unfavorable structural outcome, unfavorable visual outcome and unfavorable refractive outcome. The secondary outcomes were absence of recurrence, ocular and systemic adverse events.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-six eyes were enrolled in the study; all had completed 1 year of follow-up. The mean birth weight was 991 ± 266 g (range: 875-1,105 g); the mean gestational age at birth was 26.33 ± 2.1 weeks (range: 24-30 weeks); 9 eyes were graded as ROP with stage 2+, zone I retinopathy, 14 eyes had stage 3+ disease in zone II and 3 eyes were diagnosed with stage 3 disease in zone I. Twenty-five eyes (96.2%) showed a favorable structural and 21 (80.1%) a favorable visual outcome, and the median refractive error after 1 year was 0.75 dpt (range: -9.5 to +4).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Intravitreal injection of aflibercept monotherapy is an easy, safe and effective alternative modality of therapy for high-risk prethreshold type 1 ROP. A further multicenter study with a longer duration of follow-up is required.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Abdelrahman G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Salman
authors.forename: Aza M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Said
mesh_terms: D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D052577:Infant, Extremely Low Birth Weight; D058449:Intravitreal Injections; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D040262:Receptors, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012029:Refraction, Ocular / Q000502:physiology*; D012160:Retina / Q000473:pathology*; D012178:Retinopathy of Prematurity / Q000145:classification / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; C467484:VEGFA protein, human; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; C533178:aflibercept; D040262:Receptors, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor