Comparisons of Outcomes With Different Intervals Between Adjunctive Ranibizumab and Photodynamic Therapy for Polypoidal Choroidal Vasculopathy – Corrected Proof

Purpose: To determine the optimal time for administration of intravitreal ranibizumab injections before photodynamic therapy (PDT) as combined therapy to treat polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV).Design: Retrospective, comparative, interventional case series.Methods: The study included 99 eyes (98 patients) with treatment-naïve subfoveal PCV treated with an intravitreal ranibizumab injection followed by PDT. The combination therapy included 1 ranibizumab injection administered 7 days before PDT (7-day group) or 2 days before PDT (2-day group). All eyes were followed for over 12 months.Results: Intravitreal ranibizumab was administered 7 days before PDT in 59 eyes and 2 days before PDT in 40 eyes. In the 7-day group, the best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) did not improve significantly at 3 months (P = .086) or 12 months (P = .259) compared with baseline. In the 2-day group, BCVA improved significantly at 3 months (P < .001) and 12 months (P < .001). The polypoidal lesions regressed completely in 46 eyes (78.0%) in the 7-day group and in 34 eyes (85.0%) in the 2-day group; 38 eyes (64.4%) and 35 eyes (87.5%), respectively, did not require additional treatment, which differed significantly (P = .008) between the 2 groups. Subretinal hemorrhages did not develop in either group within 1 month after the combined therapy.Conclusions: Administration of an intravitreal ranibizumab injection 2 days before PDT achieves significantly better visual outcomes and requires fewer additional treatments compared with administration of the injection 7 days before PDT.