Smartphone-based remote monitoring of vision in macular disease enables early detection of worsening pathology and need for intravitreal therapy.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To assess the outcomes of home monitoring of distortion caused by macular diseases using a smartphone-based application (app), and to examine them with hospital-based assessments of visual acuity (VA), optical coherence tomography-derived central macular thickness (CMT) and the requirement of intravitreal injection therapy. DESIGN: Observational study with retrospective analysis of data. METHODS: Participants were trained in the correct use of the app (Alleye, Oculocare, Zurich, Switzerland) in person or by using video and telephone consultations. Automated threshold-based alerts were communicated based on a traffic light system. A 'threshold alarm' was defined as three consecutive 'red' scores, and turned into a 'persistent alarm' if present for greater than a 7-day period. Changes of VA and CMT, and the requirement for intravitreal therapy after an alarm were examined. RESULTS: 245 patients performing a total of 11 592 tests (mean 46.9 tests per user) were included and 85 eyes (164 alarms) examined. Mean drop in VA from baseline was -4.23 letters (95% CI: -6.24 to -2.22; p<0.001) and mean increase in CMT was 29.5 µm (95% CI: -0.08 to 59.13; p=0.051). Sixty-six eyes (78.5%) producing alarms either had a drop in VA, increase in CMT or both and 60.0% received an injection. Eyes with persistent alarms had a greater loss of VA, -4.79 letters (95% CI: -6.73 to -2.85; p<0.001) or greater increase in CMT, +87.8 µm (95% CI: 5.2 to 170.4; p=0.038). CONCLUSION: Smartphone-based self-tests for macular disease may serve as reliable indicators for the worsening of pathology and the need for treatment.

Evolving Treatment Patterns and Outcomes of Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration Over a Decade.

PURPOSE: Management of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) has evolved over the last decade with several treatment regimens and medications. This study describes the treatment patterns and visual outcomes over 10 years in a large cohort of patients. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of electronic health records from 27 National Health Service secondary care healthcare providers in the UK. PARTICIPANTS: Treatment-naïve patients receiving at least 3 intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injections for nAMD in their first 6 months of follow-up were included. Patients with missing data for age or gender and those aged less than 55 years were excluded. METHODS: Eyes with at least 3 years of follow-up were grouped by years of treatment initiation, and 3-year outcomes were compared between the groups. Data were generated during routine clinical care between September 2008 and December 2018. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Visual acuity (VA), number of injections, and number of visits. RESULTS: A total of 15 810 eyes of 13 705 patients receiving 195 104 injections were included. Visual acuity improved from baseline during the first year, but decreased thereafter, resulting in loss of visual gains. This trend remained consistent throughout the past decade. Although an increasing proportion of eyes remained in the driving standard, this was driven by better presenting VA over the decade. The number of injections decreased substantially between the first and subsequent years, from a mean of 6.25 in year 1 to 3 in year 2 and 2.5 in year 3, without improvement over the decade. In a multivariable regression analysis, final VA improved by 0.24 letters for each year since 2008, and younger age and baseline VA were significantly associated with VA at 3 years. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show that despite improvement in functional VA over the years, primarily driven by improving baseline VA, patients continue to lose vision after the first year of treatment, with only marginal change over the past decade. The data suggest these results may be related to suboptimal treatment patterns, which have not improved over the years. Rethinking treatment strategies may be warranted, possibly on a national level or through the introduction of longer-acting therapies.

Twelve per cent of 6142 eyes treated for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) presented with low visual outcome within 2 years. Analysis from the Swedish Macula Registry (SMR).

PURPOSE: To analyse characteristics from the SMR to explore the risk factors for visual acuity (VA) below ≤ 35 letters of the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) due to nAMD during a two-year follow-up. METHODS: This study evaluates 6142 treatment-naïve eyes, with focus on a subgroup of 780 eyes with final VA outcome of ≤ 35 letters, regarding differences of baseline characteristics, change of VA, number of injections and choice of drug to predict visual outcome. RESULTS: Patients with final VA ≤ 35 letters were older; p < 0.0001, and received fewer injections, 6.2 ± 3.8 vs. 8.7 ± 5.4; p < 0.00001. Only 4% of all patients with ≥ 70 letters baseline VA decreased to a final VA of ≤ 35 letters. The two groups with a final VA of ≤ 35 letters and VA > 35 letters presented the following baseline lesion locations; p = 0.001; 61% vs. 57% subfoveal, 18% vs. 21% juxtafoveal and 4% vs. 6% extrafoveal. Lesion size, in the group with final VA ≤ 35 letters, was 2805 ± 2093 µm vs. 2440 ± 1637 µm in the group with a VA of > 35 letters; p = 0.005. A logistic regression analysis including baseline VA, best- or worse-seeing eye, age, membrane size, membrane location, symptom duration showed VA; p = < 0.0001, best- or worse-seeing eye; p = 0.026, age; p = < 0.0001, and membrane size; p = 0.002 to predict a decline of VA within 2 years. CONCLUSIONS: In eyes treated for wet AMD and studied for 2 years, 12.7% of eyes declined to a final VA of ≤ 35 letters. Visual acuity, worse-seeing eye treated, age and membrane size turned out as the baseline characteristics that had significantly influenced visual decline to ≤ 35 letters during the two-year follow-up.

Intravitreal therapy for retinal diseases in Norway 2011-2015.

PURPOSE: During the past decade, intravitreally administered biologic drugs have advanced the treatment of retinal diseases, such as wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic macular oedema and retinal venous occlusions. The drugs as well as the necessary disease management imply considerable economic burden on healthcare systems. This Norwegian study documents the rates of use of intravitreal therapies and intercounty variation over a 5-year period. METHODS: We collected data from the Norwegian Patient Register for all episodes of care encompassing intravitreal therapy during the period 2011-2015. For each episode, we received information on patient age, sex, county of residence, diagnosis and name of drug injected. RESULTS: During the study period, 21 277 patients had in total 236 857 episodes of care. The number of intravitreal injections doubled from 2011 to 2015, reaching 63 601 injections in 2015, of which 77% were for diagnosed wet AMD. In 2015, the age-adjusted number of episodes varied from 19 to 55 per 1000 population aged 50+ across Norway's 19 counties. The age-adjusted number of patients treated per 1000 population aged 50+ varied from 5.22 to 8.35. CONCLUSION: The use of intravitreal injections increased rapidly with wet AMD as the most frequent diagnosis and with varying utilization across Norway's 19 counties. The causes of the varying use of intravitreal therapies could not be established but may reflect variation in disease prevalence, treatment capacity, travel distance to the nearest ophthalmic service and lack of national treatment guidelines. The geographic variation in utilization may challenge policy goals of equitable care and warrants further studies.

Intravitreal ranibizumab injection at the end of vitrectomy for diabetic vitreous hemorrhage (Observational Study).

To evaluate the outcomes and complications of intravitreal injections of ranibizumab in patients during pars plana vitrectomy for treatment of diabetic vitreous hemorrhage. This retrospective, observational, comparative study included 103 patients (103 eyes) who underwent pars plana vitrectomy for treatment of diabetic vitreous hemorrhage. Sixty-six patients received an intravitreal injection of 0.05 mg (0.05 cc) of ranibizumab at the end of surgery. Main outcome measures were the occurrence of recurrent early vitreous hemorrhage, reoperation, intraocular pressure, best corrected visual acuity. Mean follow-up time was 6 months. The rate of rebleeding in the intravitreal ranibizumab (IVR) group was 6.1% (4 eyes), which is significantly lower than the control group (24.3%, 9 eyes, P < .01). The incidence of postoperative diabetic vitreous hemorrhage (PDVH) was significantly lower in the IVR group than the control group, OR=0.26, 95% CI= (0.06, 0.95). Visual acuity 6 months after operation was better in IVR group (P<.01) There was no difference in mean intraocular pressure between the 2 groups (P=.56). The present clinical study suggests that intravitreal injection of ranibizumab is effective in the prevention of postoperative diabetic vitreous hemorrhage in eyes undergoing pars plana vitrectomy for the treatment of diabetic vitreous hemorrhage.

Bevacizumab intravítreo, ¿está exento de efectos adversos extraoculares? / Intravitreal bevacizumab: Is it exempt from adverse extraocular effects?

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Safety of 5914 intravitreal ziv-aflibercept injections.

PURPOSE: To analyse the pooled safety data of intravitreal ziv-aflibercept (IVZ) therapy for various retinal conditions. METHODS: This was a retrospective, observational study which included patients from 14 participating centres who received IVZ. The medical records of patients who received IVZ from March 2015 through October 2017 were evaluated. Patient demographics and ocular details were compiled. Ocular and systemic adverse events that occurred within 1 month of IVZ injections were recorded and defined as either procedure-related or drug-related. RESULTS: A total of 1704 eyes of 1562 patients received 5914 IVZ injections (mean±SD: 3.73±3.94) during a period of 2.5 years. The age of patients was 60.6±12.8 years (mean±SD) and included diverse chorioretinal pathologies. Both ocular (one case of endophthalmitis, three cases of intraocular inflammation, and one case each of conjunctival thinning/necrosis and scleral nodule) and systemic adverse events (two cases of myocardial infarction, one case of stroke and two deaths) were infrequent. CONCLUSION: This constitutes the largest pooled safety report on IVZ use and includes patients from 14 centres distributed across the globe. It shows that IVZ has an acceptable ocular and systemic safety profile with incidences of adverse events similar to those of other vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitory drugs. The analysis supports the continued use of IVZ in various retinal disorders.

[Evaluation of intravitreal injection practice patterns in Cotonou]. / Évaluation de la pratique de l'injection intravitréenne à Cotonou.

INTRODUCTION: Intravitreal injections of medication are designed to obtain a high concentration in the posterior segment. We conducted a retrospective study of our practice of intravitreal injections to assess safety of the technique and short- and medium-term tolerability, and to analyze indications and the complications. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This analytic retrospective study focused on consecutive patients treated with intravitreal injections for the period of January 2015 to June 2016 in the "Lumière" ohthalmology clinic in Cotonou, with incidents or accidents during the injection procedure as a measure of safety. Included were all patients undergoing one or more intravitreal injections regardless of the type of product injected, who had undergone a complete ophthalmologic work-up prior to injection and who had been followed at one week (W1) and 1 month (M1) after treatment. RESULTS: During the study period, we safely performed 124 intravitreal injections on 49 patients. The indications were diabetic macular edema in 53.06% and macular edema due to vein occlusions in 26.53%. The main complication observed was ocular hypertension in 60%, mainly related to triamcinolone injection. In 51.02%, the drug used was Ranibizumab, followed by Bevacizumab in 28.54% and Triamcinolone in 20.40%. DISCUSSION: The main goal of intravitreal injection is to achieve instantly effective concentrations in the center of the globe. Intravitreal injection is a safe, feasible practice in our context. The male predominance observed in our series is explained by the low socio-economic status of women in our context as well as the economically difficult accessibility of important drugs such as anti-VEGF. Significant improvements in D7 and D30 visual acuity in our patients highlights the beneficial effects of the presence of the active molecule in the vitreous cavity for these indications. CONCLUSION: Intravitreal injection is a common practice in our context, which is being performed safely. The indications are many, and ocular hypertension is a significant complication. The difficulties in terms of supply and preservation of the main drugs used (anti-VEGF) remains to be resolved.

Vision Preference Value Scale and Patient Preferences in Choosing Therapy for Symptomatic Vitreomacular Interface Abnormality.

Importance: While symptomatic vitreomacular interface abnormalities (VIAs) are common, assessment of vision preference values and treatment preferences of these may guide treatment recommendations by physicians and influence third-party payers. Objective: To determine preference values that individuals with VIA assign to their visual state and preferences of potential treatments. Design, Setting, and Participants: In this cross-sectional one-time questionnaire study conducted between December 2015 and January 2017, 213 patients from tertiary care referral centers in Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States were studied. Patients with symptomatic VIA diagnosed within 1 year of data collection, visual acuity less than 20/20 OU, and symptoms ascribed to VIAs were included. Data were analyzed from January 2017 to November 2017. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary end points were overall mean preference value that individuals with VIA assigned to their visual state and patients' preferences for potential treatments. Preference values were graded on a scale from 0 to 1, with 0 indicating death and 1 indicating perfect health with perfect vision. Results: Of the 213 included patients, 139 (65.3%) were women, and the mean (SD) age was 65.6 (7.7) years. Diagnoses included epiretinal membrane (n = 100 [46.9%]), macular hole (n = 99 [46.5%]), and vitreomacular traction (n = 14 [6.6%]). The mean (SD) vision preference value was 0.76 (0.15), without differences identified among the 3 VIA types. More participants were enthusiastic about vitrectomy (150 [71.1%]) compared with intravitreal injection (120 [56.9%]) (difference, 14.2%; 95% CI, 5.16-23.3; P = .002). Adjusted analyses showed enthusiasm for vitrectomy was associated with fellow eye visual acuity (odds ratio, 10.99; 95% CI, 2.01-59.97; P = .006) and better-seeing eye visual acuity (odds ratio, 0.03; 95% CI, 0.001-0.66; P = .03). Overall enthusiasm for treatment was associated with fellow eye visual acuity (odds ratio, 7.22; 95% CI, 1.29-40.40; P = .02). Overall, most participants (171 [81.0%]) were enthusiastic about surgery, injection, or both. Conclusions and Relevance: Study participants reported similar preference values among 3 types of VIAs. The data suggest that most patients with these conditions would be enthusiastic about undergoing vitrectomy or an injection to treat it, likely because of the condition's effect on visual functioning, although there may be a slight preference for vitrectomy at this time.

DISEASE ACTIVITY AFTER DEVELOPMENT OF LARGE SUBRETINAL HEMORRHAGE IN POLYPOIDAL CHOROIDAL VASCULOPATHY.

PURPOSE: To investigate changes in disease activity after a large subretinal hemorrhage in polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy. METHODS: Fifty-two polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy eyes with large subretinal hemorrhage (at initial presentation [n = 33, Group 1] or developed during follow-up [n = 19, Group 2]) were enrolled. Thirty polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy eyes without subretinal hemorrhage were enrolled as controls. All subretinal hemorrhages were treated with pneumatic displacement. Other active lesions were treated with intravitreal ranibizumab on an as-needed basis. Injection-free period, 1-year injection numbers, and polyp presence on indocyanine green angiography were analyzed. RESULTS: The injection frequency significantly diminished after hemorrhage (1.2 ± 1.8 in Group 1 and 1.1 ± 2.1 in Group 2) compared with control eyes (3.9 ± 3.0) in both groups (both P < 0.001) and the prehemorrhage period (4.7 ± 1.4) in Group 2 (P < 0.001). The median injection-free period after hemorrhage was 12.0 months in both groups. At least one polypoidal lesion disappeared after hemorrhage in 7 of 10 eyes (70%) with comparable indocyanine green angiography. CONCLUSION: The activity of a polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy lesion diminished after a large subretinal hemorrhage, which was associated with rupture of major polyps.

Injections frequency and health care costs in patients treated with aflibercept compared to ranibizumab: new real-life evidence from Switzerland.

BACKGROUND: Previous analyses of real-life data indicated that injection frequency and health care costs did not differ for anti-VEGF treatment with aflibercept and ranibizumab. The objective of this study was to investigate whether this finding persisted when analysing a longer time period after licensing. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of health insurance claims data of two large Swiss basic health insurance plans including 28% of the Swiss population. Patients qualified for inclusion if aflibercept or ranibizumab treatment had been initiated between June 1, 2013 and November 1, 2014. Within this set, patients with at least 12 months of continuous insurance enrolment in the previous year, 12-month follow-up, and without change of anti-VEGF drug were considered. We examined the distribution of demographic data and patient characteristics between those receiving ranibizumab and those receiving aflibercept. Numbers of injections and associated health care expenditures observed during the 12-month follow-up period after incident treatment were the two outcomes considered. In multivariate regression analyses, controlling for possible confounding factors, we compared differences in these two outcomes between patients treated with aflibercept as compared to ranibizumab. RESULTS: A total of 3'058 patients were analysed, 790 (26%) receiving aflibercept and 2`268 receiving ranibizumab (74%). The use of aflibercept (average number of injections 6.2) as compared to ranibizumab (average number of injections 5.7) in the follow-up period of 1 to 12 months, was associated with a 12% increase in the injection frequency (95% confidence interval (CI) 6-17%; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Real-life data contradicts the assumption that aflibercept is used less frequently as compared to ranibizumab. This results in similar total health care expenditures for both anti-VEGF agents.

Incidence of acute endophthalmitis after office based intravitreal bevacizumab injection.

The burden of intravitreal injections has increased tremendously over the past few years. Since traditionally the operation theatre setup is currently used for this procedure, it is increasingly becoming difficult to manage such a patient load in the theatres. To overcome this challenge, office-based setup for intravitreal injection was started. This study was planned to determine the incidence of endophthalmitis after office-based intravitreal bevacizumab injection and to compare it with previously reported incidence of endophthalmitis after operation theatre-based intravitreal injections. The study was conducted at Al-Ehsan Eye Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan, from July 2015 to June 2016, and comprised patients who received intravitreal injections of bevacizumab (Avastin) for different ocular indications. A total of 1,047 intravitreal injections were given in an office-based set-up. Of them, 2(0.19%) cases of clinically suspected endophthalmitis were identified. Office-based set-up for intravitreal bevacizumab injection was found to have comparable safety profile with traditional operation theatre-based set-up.

Using Electronic Health Records to Build an Ophthalmologic Data Warehouse and Visualize Patients' Data.

PURPOSE: To develop a near-real-time data warehouse (DW) in an academic ophthalmologic center to gain scientific use of increasing digital data from electronic medical records (EMR) and diagnostic devices. DESIGN: Database development. METHODS: Specific macular clinic user interfaces within the institutional hospital information system were created. Orders for imaging modalities were sent by an EMR-linked picture-archiving and communications system to the respective devices. All data of 325 767 patients since 2002 were gathered in a DW running on an SQL database. A data discovery tool was developed. An exemplary search for patients with age-related macular degeneration, performed cataract surgery, and at least 10 intravitreal (excluding bevacizumab) injections was conducted. RESULTS: Data related to those patients (3 142 204 diagnoses [including diagnoses from other fields of medicine], 720 721 procedures [eg, surgery], and 45 416 intravitreal injections) were stored, including 81 274 optical coherence tomography measurements. A web-based browsing tool was successfully developed for data visualization and filtering data by several linked criteria, for example, minimum number of intravitreal injections of a specific drug and visual acuity interval. The exemplary search identified 450 patients with 516 eyes meeting all criteria. CONCLUSIONS: A DW was successfully implemented in an ophthalmologic academic environment to support and facilitate research by using increasing EMR and measurement data. The identification of eligible patients for studies was simplified. In future, software for decision support can be developed based on the DW and its structured data. The improved classification of diseases and semiautomatic validation of data via machine learning are warranted.

Intravitreal anti-VEGF Treatment in Central Retinal Vein Occlusion (CRVO): a Meta-Analysis of One Year Results.

Background It was the aim of this meta-analysis to assess the 12-month efficacy of intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy in eyes with central retinal vein occlusion. Patients and Methods A MEDLINE-based survey was performed, including 33 publications (27 case series), covering a total of 1834 treated eyes. Baseline data (age, length of symptoms, visual acuity, gain in visual acuity at 3, 6, and 12 months) and average numbers of injections were calculated. Linear and non-linear regressions were calculated to relate baseline and treatment parameters and outcome. In a subgroup analysis, outcome data of randomised and non-randomised studies were compared. Results Mean gain in visual acuity was 2.8 ± 0.8 (mean±1 standard deviation), 2.7 ± 1.1 and 2.2 ± 1.4 lines at months 3, 6, and 12. 4.2 ± 1.2 and 6.4 ± 2.4 injections were given until months 6 and 12. Visual acuity gain improved significantly more in randomised trials (3.3 ± 0.7 and 3.0 ± 0.4, at months 6 and 12 versus 2.4 ± 1.1 and 2.2 ± 1.4, both p = 0.04) than in non-randomised studies. Eyes in randomised trials received significantly more injections (4.8 ± 1.1 and 8.6 ± 0.7 until month 6 and 12 versus 3.7 ± 1.0 and 5.6 ± 2.3, p = 0.045 and 0.04). After 12 months of care, the improvement in visual acuity was significantly correlating to the number of injections given. The dose response curve suggests saturation with treatment at an average of 7-8 injections within 12 months. The midpoint of the dose response curve was calculated at 6.78 injections per year. Conclusions The results of this analysis show that an improvement of approximately 3 lines can be maintained in the first year. Careful observation seems necessary to avoid under-treatment, which may occur below an average of 7-8 injections within the first 12 months of treatment.

Results of a Meta-Analysis on Intravitreal anti-VEGF Treatment of Macular Oedema Secondary to Branch Retinal Vein Occlusion (BRVO).

Background In this meta-analysis, the outcome was analysed of intravitreal anti-VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) ocular therapy of macular oedema secondary to branch retinal vein occlusion; this was related to baseline and treatment parameters. Material and Methods 36 relevant publications (33 case series) were identified in a MEDLINE-based literature search, which reported on 1,759 treated eyes. Statistical analysis included description of baseline, treatment, and outcome data, linear and non-linear regression and comparison of randomised and non-randomised studies. Results The mean improvement in visual acuity (VA) was 2.8 ± 0.9 lines (mean ± 1 standard deviation) at month 3, 3.1 ± 0.8 at month 6, and 3.2 ± 0.8 lines at month 12. The mean number of anti-VEGF injections was 3.8 ± 1.3 until month 6, and 4.1 ± 2.3 until month 12. Eyes in randomised trials received significantly more injections (4.8+/1.2) than those in non-randomised studies (2.9 ± 0.6, p = 0.0126) until month 6. At months 6 and 12, the gain in visual acuity was not significantly different between randomised and non-randomised studies (3.2 ± 0.4 versus 3.1 ± 1.0 lines, and 3.3 ± 0.4 versus 3.2 ± 1.0, respectively). Regression analysis did not indicate a significant relationship between the number of injections and the improvement in visual acuity at months 6 and 12. Visual acuity outcome was significantly worse in older patients at months 3, 6, and 12. Conclusions The results of this meta-analysis demonstrate that a substantially improved and favourable absolute visual acuity can be achieved with relatively few anti-VEGF injections in eyes with branch retinal vein occlusion.

SYSTEMIC BETA-BLOCKERS IN NEOVASCULAR AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION.

PURPOSE: To evaluate whether oral beta-blockers (BBs) are associated with a decreased number of intravitreal injections in patients with incident neovascular age-related macular degeneration. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of subjects with a new diagnosis of neovascular age-related macular degeneration was conducted using a medical claims database from a large national US insurer. Two cohorts were created for comparison consisting of patients with regular use of BBs or calcium channel blockers. The main outcome measured was the difference in the mean number of intravitreal injections administered between the two cohorts. RESULTS: After inclusion and exclusion criteria, 239 BB and 155 calcium channel blocker subjects remained for analysis. Univariate analysis revealed that the mean number of injections in the BB cohort was 6.43 (95% confidence interval [CI] 5.90-6.95) versus 6.55 (95% CI 5.85-7.25) in the calcium channel blocker cohort (P = 0.78). After multivariate adjustment, the mean number of injections in the BB group was 6.32 (95% CI 5.77-6.87) versus 6.71 (95% CI 6.02-7.40) in the calcium channel blocker group. The overall difference between the 2 groups was -0.39 (95% CI difference -1.29 to 0.51; P = 0.40). CONCLUSION: The use of oral BBs is not associated with a decreased number of intravitreal injections in incident neovascular age-related macular degeneration patients.

[Analysis of Anti-VEGF Intravitreal Injection Treatment in Clinical Practice]. / Analyse der Durchführung der intravitrealen operativen Medikamenteneingabe im klinischen Alltag.

BACKGROUND: As AMD patients are very often administered intravitreal operative drugs (IVOM), the relevant procedure in ophthalmological institutes was examined in the present project: A questionnaire was used to collect data on structures, criteria and time expended in the treatment in single or small practices, clinics and (university) departments of ophthalmology. 42 facilities participated in the main study. RESULTS: The patient is usually given an appointment within two weeks of the first contact. If the patient has AMD requiring treatment, the first IVOM is administered within up to two weeks. This often lasts no longer than three hours. The follow-ups after the injection cycle may last up to one hour. If the findings are stable, there is normally a new follow-up after four weeks. The criterion for retreatment is always given as SD-OCT, followed by vision and funduscopy. The next appointment for injection is normally within one week. In diagnostic testing, angiography is almost as important as SD-OCT, funduscopy and vision, but is rarely used as a criterion for retreatment. The main differences in the organisation of the treatment plan are in the time course of the first IVOM and the follow-ups after the injection cycle. In this respect, practice clinics and individual or group practices may be quicker than departments of ophthalmology. One third of the surveyed facilities stated that they cooperated in diagnostic testing. These cooperating facilities repeat many investigations, both in diagnostic testing and in follow-ups. CONCLUSION: Bearing in mind that IVOM patients have a special interest in timely treatment, it would be desirable to shorten the waiting times, both for injection appointments and during treatment. Cooperation between the different service providers is sensible if this shortens the treatment pathways and relieve the patient and ophthalmologist. Moreover, both groups could benefit from standard and efficient treatment pathways, as these simplify patient care, increase the patient's satisfaction with the treatment and therefore tend to increase compliance.