The impact of compliance among patients with diabetic macular oedema treated with intravitreal aflibercept: a 48‐month follow‐up study

PURPOSE: This study aimed to compare anatomical and functional outcomes between patients with non‐proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) with diabetic macular oedema (DME) who adhered to intravitreal aflibercept therapy and patients lost to follow‐up (LTFU). METHODS: We enrolled 200 patients and recorded the interval between each procedure and the subsequent follow‐up visit. Moreover, visual acuity (VA) and anatomical outcomes were measured at each follow‐up examination. RESULTS: Among the patients, 103 (51%) patients adhered to intravitreal aflibercept therapy and follow‐up examination while 97 (49%) patients were LTFU. Forty‐six (47%) patients LTFU who returned for further treatment showed a significant decrease in VA from 0.51 (±0.46) to 0.89 (±0.38) logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) after 48 months (p = 0.004). Compared with the adherent group, the return group showed a worse VA at 48 months (p = 0.036). Further, 1 (1%) patient in the adherent group and 8 (17%) patients in the return group developed a proliferative DR. Patients who were LTFU had a 13.0 times greater chance to develop a proliferative DR (p = 0.022). CONCLUSIONS: Patients who did not adhere to intravitreal aflibercept therapy for DME showed significantly worse visual outcomes compared to patients with good therapy adherence. Moreover, patients with LTFU had a 13 times higher risk of developing a proliferative DR. Considering the potential disease progress, better strategies should be applied to optimize the functional outcome of patients at risk of reduced adherence.