The Need for Treatment of Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration: A Study Based on the Polish National Registry

INTRODUCTION: The Polish National AMD Therapeutic Program offered us a unique opportunity to determine the need for treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). METHODS: A search, extraction, and analysis of data from the monitoring system of the Therapeutic Program of the National Health Fund was performed. Demographic data from the Central Statistical Office were also obtained and analyzed. All national data, and from the Silesian Voivodeship specifically, from patients who had received treatment prior to January 14, 2022 (57,876 eyes) were analyzed. RESULTS: Approximately 0.1% of the Polish population requires treatment for nAMD when the best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) criteria exclude irreversible severe changes in the fovea (0.2–0.8 by Snellen). There were 30,771 eyes in the therapeutic program in January 2022, and 4898 (15.9%) of them were in Silesia, which contains 11.7% of the total population and 12.4% of the elderly population (65 years of age and older). However, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the average number of monthly enrollments in the therapeutic program decreased from 717 in the first quarter of 2020 to 505 in the second quarter (with a low of 407 in April). Moreover, in 2020, a negative balance was recorded between included and excluded patients. CONCLUSION: The need for nAMD treatment in the elderly community (65 years of age and older) is estimated to be 0.55–0.66%.