ABSTRACT
Purpose : To assess the visual impact and reasons for treatment delay during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) patients in ongoing anti-VEGF therapy. Methods : Retrospective, national, multicentre, observational study in nAMD patients treated with anti-VEGF therapy and registered in the Fight Retinal Blindness (FRB) Spain platform prior to lockdown. Study cohort was divided in timely treated patients (TTP) and delayed treatment patients (DTP). Mean change in best corrected visual acuity (BCVA, in ETDRS letters) from the last follow-up visit (FUV) before lockdown (BLD) (baseline [BL] visit) to the first FUV after lockdown (ALD) was assessed. A specific questionnaire was distributed to the participant centers to investigate further the reasons for treatment delay in all individual cases. Results : A total of 245 eyes fulfilled the eligibility criteria, from which 39.6% were TTP (n=97) and 60.4% were DTP (n=148). TTP presented greater baseline and final BCVA compared to DTP (64.1 vs 58.7 letters, p=0.023, and 63.6 vs 57.1, p=0.004). BCVA loss was significantly greater for DTP vs TTP (-2.0 vs -0.6 letters, p=0.016). For DTP cohort, the primary reason for visit delay was patient decision (48.2%) followed by limited hospital clinic capacity (42.7%). When patients decided not to attend scheduled visits, the main reason was fear to Covid-19 infection (49.4%). Conclusions : This study provides relevant data about the impact on visual outcomes of Covid-19 pandemic lockdown on nAMD patients and specifically provides new additional information regarding the main reasons for treatment and visits delay from both patients and healthcare service delivery perspectives.