Estimated cases of legal blindness and visual impairment avoided using ranibizumab for choroidal neovascularization: Non-hispanic white population in the United States with age-related macular degeneration

Neil M. Bressler, Quan V. Doan, Rohit Varma, Paul P. Lee, Ivan J. Suñer, Chantal Dolan, Mark D. Danese, Elaine Yu, Irwin Tran, Shoshana Colman

Research output: Contribution to journalComment/debatepeer-review

76 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective: To estimate the number of non-Hispanic white individuals in the United States avoiding legal blindness and visual impairment from neovascular agerelated macular degeneration (AMD) with ranibizumab availability. Methods: Modeling of visual acuity outcomes from phase 3 ranibizumab trials to incidence rates of neovascular AMD from population-based studies. Results: If no treatment were given, of the 103 582 individuals developing neovascular AMD for which ranibizumab would be indicated and available, 16 268 would become legally blind in 2 years. Monthly ranibizumab would reduce the incidence of legal blindness in 2 years by 72% (95% confidence interval [CI], 70% to 74%) to 4484 individuals. If no treatment were given, 34 702 would become visually impaired. Monthly ranibizumab would reduce the incidence of visual impairment in 2 years by 37% (95% CI, 35% to 39%) to 21 919 cases. Conclusions: Ranibizumab should have a substantial effect on reducing the magnitude of legal blindness and visual impairment within 2 years after diagnosis of neovascular AMDamong non-Hispanic white individuals in the United States. Although racial subgroups other than non-Hispanic whites were not considered (because there is limited information in the literature regarding incidence rates of choroidal neovascularization in other populations) and although these results assume access to and application of monthly ranibizumab for 2 years, the number of individuals developing legal blindness or vision impairment from neovascular AMD should be reduced dramatically if monthly ranibizumab is applied when indicated.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)709-717
Number of pages9
JournalArchives of ophthalmology
Volume129
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2011

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ophthalmology

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