EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF COMBINED TREATMENT OF CATARACT AND NEOVASCULAR AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION

Abstract

Purpose: to evaluate the clinical and immunological efficacy and safety of combined surgical treatment of cataract and neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) with intraoperative intravitreal injection (IVI) of anti-VEGF drugs.Material and methods. 52 patients with a combination of cataract and nAMD were examined: 32 women and 20 men, with an average age of 68.06±2.40 years. Cataract phacoemulsification (CFE) was performed with implantation of an intraocular lens (IOL), followed by IVV of ranibizumab (21) or aflibercept (20). Ophthalmological examination and examination of 28 cytokines in the lacrimal fluid (LF) were performed before and 31 days after surgery in comparison with the control.Results and discussion. After performing CFE with IOL and IVI anti-VEGF there were determined an increase in visual acuity to 0.49±0.1 and a decrease of the center retina thickness in all examined groups. In the LF before treatment was found an increase in the concentration of VEGF, bFGF, IFN-γ, IP-10, and MIP-1β, with a decrease in the concentration of TGF-β. On the 31st day wasdetected a decrease in the level of VEGF, TNF-α, and an increase of the IP-10.Conclusions. Combined treatment for a combination of cataracts and nAMD leads to increased visual acuity, improved macular morphology, and reduced angiogenic and proinflammatory factors in the LF.