Injections for wet AMD have risks

Researchers at Duke University discovered that patients who undergo anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) treatment for macular degeneration are at a higher risk of having ocular complications. Researchers used the Medicare claims database for their study. The study compared 6,734 patients who had undergone anti-VEGF treatments for neovascular macular degeneration to the same number of people with neovascular macular degeneration who did not receive anti-VEGF treatments. The rates of post-injection outcomes were analyzed by cumulative incidence and the Cox proportional hazards model for demographic factors and ocular comorbidities. The anti- VEGF group had significantly higher rates of endophthalmitis and vitreous hemorrhage than their counterparts who did not receive the anti-VEGF treatments. Overall,  researchers discovered that the anti-VEGF group had an 87.9% higher risk of severe ocular complications and a 2.6 increased risk per injection.* Elise Ervin Staff Writer