Comparison in Retreatments between Bevacizumab and Ranibizumab Intravitreal Injections for Retinopathy of Prematurity: A Multicenter Study

Purpose: To compare the types and dosages of anti-vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs) to ascertain whether specific dosages or types of injection were associated with retreatment in clinical practice in the United States.

Design: Multicenter, retrospective, consecutive series.

Participants: Patients with retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) treated with anti-VEGF injections from 2007 to 2021.

Methods: Sixteen sites from the United States participated. Data collected included demographics, birth characteristics, examination findings, type and dose of anti-VEGF treatment, retreatment rates, and time to retreatment. Comparisons of retreatment rates between bevacizumab and ranibizumab intravitreal injections were made.

Main outcome measures: Relative rate of retreatment between varying types of anti-VEGF therapy, including bevacizumab and ranibizumab, and the various dosages used for each.

Results: Data from 873 eyes of 661 patients (61% male and 39% female) were collected. After exclusion of 40 eyes treated with laser before anti-VEGF injection and 266 eyes re-treated with laser at or beyond 8 weeks after the initial anti-VEGF treatment, 567 eyes of 307 patients (63% male and 37% female) remained and were included in the primary analysis. There was no difference between the no retreatment and retreatment groups in terms of birthweight, gestational age, age at first injection, ROP stages, or number of involved clock hours. The retreatment group had a larger percentage of aggressive ROP (34% vs. 18%, P < 0.001) and greater percentage of zone 1 ROP (49 vs. 34%, P = 0.001) than the no retreatment group. Ranibizumab use was associated with a higher rate of retreatment than bevacizumab use (58% vs. 37%, P < 0.001), whereas the rate of retreatment was not associated with a specific dose of ranibizumab (R2 = 0.67, P = 0.32). Meanwhile, lower doses of bevacizumab were associated with higher rates of retreatment compared with the higher doses (R2 = 0.84, P = 0.01). There was a dose-specific trend with higher doses trending toward lower retreatments for bevacizumab.

Conclusions: In a multicenter study of ROP patients initially treated with anti-VEGF therapy, ranibizumab and lower-dose bevacizumab use were associated with an increased rate of retreatment when compared with higher-dose bevacizumab.

Financial disclosure(s): Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found after the references.