One‐Year Effectiveness Study of Intravitreous Ranibizumab in Wet (Neovascular) Age‐Related Macular Degeneration: A Meta‐Analysis

PURPOSE:The clinical efficacy of ranibizumab has been examined by a large number of prospective and retrospective studies to date. This meta-analysis was conducted to summarize the current body of evidence on visual acuity (VA) changes with use of ranibizumab in the treatment of wet (neovascular) age-related macular degeneration (wAMD). METHODS:A literature review of multiple electronic databases (EMBASE, MEDLINE, MedMEME) was conducted to find randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies that reported changes in VA while patients with wAMD were on ranibizumab. Study factors analyzed were baseline patient characteristics, study type, sample size, and 12-month change in VA. Data were pooled in a meta-analysis with VA change as the main outcome. Data were then stratified by study design and a meta-regression was conducted to assess 12-month VA change against baseline VA and age. RESULTS:A total of 42 studies were included for analysis. An overall increase of 5.58 letters (95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.42-6.75; p heterogeneity, < 0.001) was shown with use of ranibizumab compared to baseline. Improvements in VA were larger for RCTs, at 7.71 letters (95% CI: 6.66-8.76; p heterogeneity, 0.013), compared to observational studies, at 4.85 letters (95% CI: 3.32-6.38; p heterogeneity, < 0.001). The meta-regression showed a significant decrease in effect size between baseline VA and 12-month VA change. CONCLUSION:This meta-analysis suggests visual improvements at 12 months of 0.5-mg ranibizumab use in patients with wAMD. A higher gain in VA was observed when pooling results from RCTs compared to those in observational studies.