Objectives: To determine the efficacy and safety of brolucizumab therapy administered on a pro re nata (PRN) basis without loading dose in treatment naïve patients with diabetic macular edema (DME) for 1 year follow-up.
Methods: Patients with recent DME (<6 months) received a mandatory brolucizumab injection at inclusion and other injections could be given on a PRN basis with an 8-week interval (between injections) at minimum. Rescue therapy with other anti-VEGF was possible in case of incomplete DME resolution after the second brolucizumab with a minimum of 1-month treatment free interval between 2 injections. The primary outcome measure was the change in (BCVA) at 12 months. Secondary outcome measures included the change in central subfield thickness (CST), the change in hard exudate surface area and microaneurysms at 1 year.
Results: A total of 53 patients were included. At 12 months, the mean (SD) number of injections was 2.6 (0.8) in addition to the first mandatory injection. The mean (SD) interval between 2 consecutive injections was 3.2 (1.4) months. The mean (SD) BCVA improved from 0.62 (0.1) logMAR to 0.40 (0.16) logMAR (p = 0.012). The mean CST reduced from 397.0 (47.2) µm to 224.5 (28.1) µm (p = 0.013). The hard exudate surface area decreased significantly (p = 0.012) as did microaneurysms (p = 0.02). Seven patients required at least 1 rescue therapy. No patients experienced intra-ocular inflammatory adverse events.
Conclusion: Brolucizumab therapy for DME is a safe and effective modality for the treatment of recent DME and has the potential to reduce the number of injections.
Keywords: Brolucizumab; diabetic macular edema; hard exudates; intravitreal injection; microaneurysms; safety.