Abstract
Purpose: To examine vision-related quality of life in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME) treated with intravitreal aflibercept (EYLEA, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc, Tarrytown, NY). Design: AQUA was a multicenter, open-label, single-arm, phase 4 study. Participants: Adults 18 years of age or older with type 1 or 2 diabetes mellitus and DME. Methods: Patients received intravitreal aflibercept 2 mg every 8 weeks for 52 weeks, after 5 initial doses every 4 weeks. Main Outcome Measures: The primary outcome was the change in 25-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI VFQ-25) total score from baseline to week 52. Secondary outcomes included the change in NEI VFQ-25 near and distant activities subscale scores, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA; Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study [ETDRS] letters), and central retinal thickness (CRT) from baseline to week 52. Change in NEI VFQ-25 score at week 52 for better-seeing eyes (BSEs) and worse-seeing eyes (WSEs) also was evaluated. Results: A total of 553 patients comprised the full analysis set, and 560 patients comprised the safety analysis set. At baseline, the mean NEI VFQ-25 total score was 70.12, mean BCVA was 61.5 ETDRS letters, and mean CRT was 464.81 μm. A mean of 8.8 injections were administered over 52 weeks. At week 52, the mean improvement from baseline in the NEI VFQ-25 total score was +6.11 (standard deviation [SD], 11.46); the corresponding improvements in near and distant activities were +11.37 (SD, 18.01) and +7.33 (SD, 17.32), respectively. Similarly, improvements in patients whose BSE and WSE were treated were 7.74 (SD, 13.59) and 5.48 (SD, 9.70), respectively. At week 52, mean change in BCVA was +10.0 ETDRS letters (SD, 8.0 ETDRS letters), and mean change in CRT was –175.38 μm (SD, 132.62 μm). Overall, 53.6% of patients reported treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs), of whom 26.8% experienced an ocular TEAE in the study eye. The most common serious ocular TEAE was endophthalmitis (0.5% [n = 3]). Five deaths (0.9%) were reported, but were not considered treatment related. Conclusions: Intravitreal aflibercept was associated with clinically meaningful improvements in NEI VFQ-25 total score over 52 weeks in patients with DME; these were even more pronounced for near than for distant activities. Adverse events were consistent with the known safety profile of intravitreal aflibercept.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 567-575 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Ophthalmology Retina |
| Volume | 3 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| Early online date | 21 Mar 2019 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jul 2019 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Supported by Bayer AG, Berlin, Germany. The sponsor or funding organization participated in the design of the study; conducting the study; data analysis; interpretation of the data; and preparation, review, and approval of the manuscript. Financial Disclosure(s): The author(s) have made the following disclosure(s): J.G.G.: Consultant ? Novartis, Bayer, Allergan, Alcon, AbbVie. Supported by Bayer AG, Berlin, Germany. The sponsor or funding organization participated in the design of the study; conducting the study; data analysis; interpretation of the data; and preparation, review, and approval of the manuscript. Medical writing assistance was provided by Deepti Sharda and Melanie Meister-Broekema of PAREXEL, and was funded by Bayer. Obtained funding: N/A
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 American Academy of Ophthalmology
Copyright:
Copyright 2019 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ophthalmology
