Clinical Efficacy of Intravitreal Ranibizumab in Early and Mid-Idiopathic Choroidal Neovascularization

Background. To compare visual outcomes and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography results following intravitreal ranibizumab treatment for early and mid-idiopathic choroidal neovascularization (ICNV). Methods. This retrospective, case-controlled study examined 44 patients with ICNV in one eye initially treated with intravitreal ranibizumab (0.5 mg). Further intravitreal treatments were administered as necessary. Patients were divided into two groups according to disease duration, that is, ≤3 months or 3–6 months (early and mid-groups), and the data were compared. Results. All patients completed at least 12 months of follow-up. Significant differences were observed between the groups in best-corrected visual acuity and in central macular thickness (CMT) reduction at all five follow-up visits. At the last follow-up (12 months), 19 early group eyes (79.1%) and 10 mid group eyes (50.0%) had statistically significant visual gains of >15 early treatment diabetic retinopathy study (ETDRS) letters (χ (2) = 4.130, P = 0.042). The mean number of injections was significantly higher (P = 0.0001) in the mid group (2.53 ± 1.76) than in the early group (1.22 ± 1.01). Conclusions. Early intravitreal ranibizumab for ICNV can result in better visual prognoses, more obvious decreases in CMT, and fewer injections.