• Wei Yan Ng, Gavin Siew Wei Tan, Peng-Guan Ong, Ching-Yu Cheng, Carol Yim-Lui Cheung, Doric Wen Kuan Wong, Ranjana Mathur, Khuan Yew Chow, Tien Yin Wong, and Gemmy Chui Ming Cheung.
• Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore.
• Am. J. Ophthalmol. 2015 Mar 1; 159 (3): 557-64.e1.

PurposeTo describe the rates of myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, and mortality in patients who have treatment with intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) injections for age-related macular degeneration (AMD).DesignA retrospective population linkage study.MethodWe identified patients aged 40 years and above who received treatment with intravitreal anti-VEGF injections for AMD from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2011 at the Singapore National Eye Centre. We used a national record linkage database to identify patients who developed MI, stroke, and all-cause mortality after the first injection, excluding those with previous MI or stroke at baseline from the respective analysis. We compared rates of MI, stroke, and mortality to that of the total Singapore population.ResultsA total of 1182 individuals had an intravitreal anti-VEGF injection included in this analysis, with the majority receiving bevacizumab (n = 1011). Overall, 19 patients developed MI, 16 developed stroke, and there were 43 mortalities, giving an age-adjusted incidence rate of 350.2 per 100 000 person-years for MI, 299.3 per 100 000 person-years for stroke, and 778.9 per 100 000 person-years for mortality. This is comparable to the weighted incidence rates of the Singapore population (427.1 per 100 000 person-years for MI, 340.4 per 100 000 person-years for stroke, and 921.3 per 100 000 person-years for mortality).ConclusionThe incidence rate of MI, stroke, and death in this cohort of AMD patients treated with anti-VEGF was low, and was not significantly higher than the age-adjusted incidence rate of these events in the Singapore population.Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

25 keywords...

hide…