Short-term efficacy of ranibizumab on macular vascular lesions in Jammu and Kashmir, India: a prospective study

Purpose The aim of this study was to evaluate the short-term effects of ranibizumab on macular edema secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic macular edema (DME), and retinal vein occlusion (RVO) in patients from Jammu and Kashmir, India. Patients and methods A prospective, interventional study was conducted at Dr Agarwal Eye Hospital, Jammu, India from September 2023 to March 2024. It included 30 patients: 12 AMD, 10 DME, and eight RVO patients who received three monthly intravitreal ranibizumab injections, followed by pro-re-nata injections over a 6-month follow-up period. The primary outcome measure was the central macular thickness (CMT) changes at 3 and 6 months follow-up, while the secondary outcome measures included the best-corrected visual acuity changes and the proportion of patients achieving CMT less than 250 µm. Results There was a statistically significant reduction in the CMT at the third month (mean=−114.2±49.0 µm, P <0.001) and at the sixth month (mean=−136.4±53.0 µm, P <0.001). The best-corrected visual acuity improved significantly, with mean gains of 9.5±5.4 letters at the third month ( P <0.001) and 11.9±5.6 letters at the sixth month ( P <0.001). By 6 months, 63.3% of the patients achieved a CMT less than 250 µm. The DME patients showed the greatest mean CMT reduction (−148.9±96.6 µm), followed by the RVO (−137.1±102.8 µm) and the AMD (−127.1±76.6 µm) patients. Conclusion Ranibizumab significantly reduced the CMT and improved the visual outcome in the patients with macular edema secondary to AMD, DME, and RVO.