title: Cataract surgery in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the outcome after cataract surgery in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) treated with intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injections in routine clinical practice.
  
  
  METHODS
  We extracted information about patients recorded in electronic databases managing anti-VEGF injections and cataract surgery. We compared Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) visual acuity and frequency of anti-VEGF injections before and after cataract surgery.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We identified 89 eyes from 89 patients who had cataract surgery after being treated with a median of 10 (range 3-36) anti-VEGF injections for neovascular AMD. Visual acuity improved by a mean of 7.1 [95% confidence interval (CI) 4.6-9.6] ETDRS letters in the first 6 months after cataract surgery. The need of anti-VEGF injections did not change after cataract surgery with an average of 1.5 in the 6 months before surgery versus 1.7 in the 6 months after surgery (p = 0.25). Visual improvement was greater in patients when the time from latest injection to cataract surgery was lower.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cataract surgery improves vision in patients undergoing treatment for neovascular AMD. Cataract surgery was not associated with an increased need for anti-VEGF treatment and patients who were in active anti-VEGF treatment had better visual outcomes than patients who had cataract surgery after long injection-free periods.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Roskilde Hospital, Roskilde, Denmark.|Department of Ophthalmology, Rigshospitalet - Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark.|Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Line
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kessel
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Roskilde Hospital, Roskilde, Denmark.
authors.forename: Pernille
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Koefoed Theil
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Roskilde Hospital, Roskilde, Denmark.|Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Torben
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lykke Sørensen
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Roskilde Hospital, Roskilde, Denmark.|Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Inger Christine
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Munch
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002386:Cataract / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D058449:Intravitreal Injections; D019654:Lens Implantation, Intraocular; D008297:Male; D018918:Phacoemulsification; D019591:Pseudophakia / Q000503:physiopathology; D000069579:Ranibizumab / Q000627:therapeutic use; D040262:Receptors, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000627:therapeutic use; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology; D057135:Wet Macular Degeneration / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy
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; D000069579:Ranibizumab
keywords: cataract; neovascular AMD; phacoemulsification; ranibizumab