Strabismus, Strabismus Surgery, and Reoperation Rate in the United States: Analysis from the IRIS Registry.

PURPOSE: To describe the rates of strabismus, strabismus surgery, and strabismus surgery reoperations among all age groups in the United States. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of electronic health record data. PARTICIPANTS: Patients from the IRIS (Intelligent Research in Sight) Registry. METHODS: Description of the types and rates of strabismus and strabismus surgery from 2013 to 2016 with subgroups by age, sex, race/ethnicity, and region of the United States. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The 1-year reoperation rate for strabismus surgery performed during 2013-2015 for all age groups. RESULTS: A total of 30 827 185 unique patients were identified; 846 477 (2.75%) had a diagnosis of strabismus: 3.02% of male patients and 2.55% of female patients (difference = 0.47%, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.46-0.48, P < 0.0001). Strabismus surgery was performed in 40 780 (0.13%) unique patients during the 4 years. The rate of surgery ranged from 1.99% for children birth to 5 years of age to 0.05% for adults 40 years of age and older. Horizontal surgical codes were reported 38 813 times, vertical surgery codes were reported 9304 times, and superior oblique codes were reported 711 times. Adjustable sutures were used for 3027 patients (7.42%). Cases with a code for repeat eye muscle surgery or restrictive myopathy were reported for 6098 patients (14.9%). Esotropia accounted for 30.06% and exotropia in 21.77% of diagnoses reported for surgery. The rate of undergoing a reoperation within 1 year of a strabismus surgery was 6.72%, lowest for the group 6 to 9 years of age (3.95%) and increasing with age (P < 0.001) to 11.5% for patients 65 years of age and older. CONCLUSIONS: Strabismus is an uncommonly reported diagnosis in ophthalmologic practice. Overall, approximately 1 in 750 patients in the IRIS Registry received strabismus surgery (1 in 20 with a strabismus diagnosis) during a 4-year period. Reoperations during the first year after surgery were performed for 1 in 15 patients, increasing with age at surgery. "Big" data from clinical data registries represent real-world care that can be used to develop benchmarks for clinical outcomes and to identify areas for practice improvement and training program design.

Real-World Vision in Age-Related Macular Degeneration Patients Treated with Single Anti-VEGF Drug Type for 1 Year in the IRIS Registry.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to compare real-world visual acuity (VA) in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) treated with a single anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) drug monotherapy for 1 year from the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) Intelligent Research in Sight (IRIS) Registry. DESIGN: Retrospective, nonrandomized, comparative study. PARTICIPANTS: IRIS Registry patients with nAMD who received bevacizumab, ranibizumab, or aflibercept only for 1 year between 2013-2016. METHODS: Participants were divided into 3 groups based on monotherapy type. Multivariate analysis of covariance models (ANCOVA) was constructed in a stepwise fashion. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) VA at 1 year and mean change in logMAR VA between baseline and 1 year were compared between drug types. RESULTS: Of 13 859 patients, 6723 received bevacizumab, 2749 received ranibizumab, and 4387 received aflibercept only for 1 year. A total of 84 828 injections were performed. The mean number of injections (standard deviation) at 1 year was higher in the ranibizumab (6.4 [±2.4]) and aflibercept groups (6.2 [±2.4]) compared to bevacizumab group (5.9 [±2.4]; P < 0.0001). In the age-adjusted model, both ranibizumab and aflibercept achieved better logMAR VA at 1 year compared with bevacizumab (0.50 [±0.49], 0.49 [±0.44], 0.55 [±0.57]; P < 0.0001). However, this difference was not significant after multivariate adjustment (age, baseline VA, diabetes, posterior vitreous detachment, number of injections, race, insurance). There was no statistical difference in the age-adjusted or multivariate-adjusted mean logMAR VA change (standard deviation) at 1 year among treatment groups (-0.048 [0.44] bevacizumab, -0.053 [0.46] ranibizumab, -0.040 [0.39] aflibercept; P = 0.46). A higher percentage of patients achieved a ≥3-line VA improvement at 1 year in the bevacizumab group (22.7%) compared with ranibizumab (20.1%; P = 0.0093) and aflibercept (17.8%; P < 0.0001). However, after multivariate adjustment, aflibercept exhibited a greater log odds of a ≥3-line VA loss compared with bevacizumab only (1.25 log odds ratio; P < 0.0016). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that all 3 drugs improve VA similarly over 1 year of monotherapy.

Antivascular endothelial growth factor agents for wet age-related macular degeneration: an IRIS registry analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate treatment patterns and outcomes of patients in the United States who received antivascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) agents for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). DESIGN: Retrospective study PARTICIPANTS: Patients with wet AMD. METHODS: Using the Intelligent Research in Sight Registry, we studied patients with wet AMD who received ≥1 anti-VEGF injection, who were ≥50 years old, and with ≥1.5 years of follow-up. Patients were grouped based on follow-up duration (in years): ≥1.5 (cohort 1), ≥2.5 (cohort 2), and ≥3.5 (cohort 3). RESULTS: Patient characteristics were similar between treatment groups. 36.8%, 34.5%, and 39.2% of ranibizumab, aflibercept, and all anti-VEGF eyes, respectively, had an injection interval <8 weeks in length at the end of year 1. Results were similar at year 2 and 3. In cohorts 1-3, visual acuity (VA) changes from baseline ranged from 0.3 to 0.7 (year 1), -1.3 to -1.7 (year 2), and -2.8 to -3.1 (year 3) Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study letters. By the end of year 3, 41%, 39%, and 42% of ranibizumab, aflibercept, and all anti-VEGF eyes, respectively, had discontinued treatment (no injection for >6 months). CONCLUSION: Approximately one-third of eyes had injection intervals <8 weeks in length at the end of year 1. VA was slightly better at the end of year 1 and declined after the first year despite treatment. By the end of year 3, more than one-third of eyes had discontinued treatment. Given the high treatment burden, wet AMD patients may benefit from more durable approaches that require less frequent dosing.