Macular disorders: study of demographic patterns and management trends

Abstract

Background Macular disorder is the major cause of visual impairment, which is an important complaint and requires immediate attention. If untreated it affects the quality of life of the patient significantly. Various macular disorders constitute a major part of our clinical practice. Objective To compare different management modalities with respect to therapeutic outcomes and cost effectiveness. Methods This prospective longitudinal hospital based study was conducted in Department of Ophthalmology. 111 patients attending the Retina clinic during the study period were included in the study. Detailed history and investigations were recorded. Data was entered in MS excel worksheet and analyzed using proportions. Results There is highly significant association between the age of the patient and the presenting macular disorder, and most of the macular disorders present in older age. The overall effect of use of either avastin or lucentis in patients of Neovascular ARMD is increase in visual acuity and visual improvement with the use of lucentis is slightly better than that with the use of avastin. But avastin is more cost effective than lucentis. Macular hole surgery for idiopathic macular hole has better visual outcome as compared to observation alone and is more cost-effective than observation. Conclusion The overall effect of use of either avastin or lucentis in patients of Neovascular ARMD is increase in visual acuity and visual improvement with the use of lucentis is slightly better than that with the use of avastin. But avastin is more cost effective than lucentis.